Researchers were surprised to find such a work of art in Israel, on the periphery of the Hellenistic world.

'It is generally assumed that the master artists - such as the one who engraved the image of Alexander on this particular gemstone - were mainly employed by the leading Hellenistic courts in the capital cities, such as those in Alexandria in Egypt and Seleucia in Syria.'

The significance of the discovery at Tel Dor is in the gemstone being uncovered in an orderly excavation, in the proper context of the Hellenistic period.

The origins of most Alexander portraits, scattered across numerous museums around the world, are unknown. Some belonged to collections that existed even prior to the advent of scientific archaeology, others were acquired on the black market, and it is likely that some are even forgeries.