Looters caught in an ancient well near Rahat

The antiquity looters were digging for treasure in the well, following a southern Bedouin myth * One of the robbers was previously charged for antiquity looting and was released on probation.

Last Tuesday, the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit in the Israel Antiquities Authority caught a team of three antiquity robbers "on the job" while excavating and destroying historical layers in an Ottoman well next to the Rahat cemetery. The team is suspected of searching for a hidden treasure, which, according to a Bedouin myth, was buried in the well in the cave.

The archaeological site of Horvat Maaravim, near Rahat, where there are ancient remains from the Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic, and Ottoman periods, was being watched by the Israel Antiquities Authority. On Tuesday, in the early evening, suspicious figures were seen approaching the site and entering the cave covering the rock-hewn water well on the southern side of the site.

The Israel Antiquities Authority Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit inspectors hurried to the site. They reached the cave entrance without being spotted, catching the robbers in the act of digging up the archaeological site.

The suspects, in their twenties, were arrested—with the assistance of Border Patrol Police and the security staff of the Rahat municipality—and were taken for questioning during the night.

One of the looters was arrested in the past and charged for a similar offense in 2020 when he received a punishment on probation of half a year imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 shekels.

"After the summer heat, we witness an increase in antiquity robbing activities," says Israel Antiquities Authority Director-General Eli Escusido, "The Israel Antiquities Authority is busy combatting the phenomenon of antiquity theft day and night. The looters are motivated by financial gain; they rip the finds from their archaeological context, thus damaging the country's heritage."  

According to Amir Ganor, Director of the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit in the Israel Antiquities Authority, "It must be absolutely clear to the public that rumors of hidden treasures have no archaeological or historical basis. No treasure has been discovered to date, but irreparable damage has been done to the archaeological sites, undermining the possibility of reconstructing the history of this country's peoples."

The Israel Antiquities Authority communicated that damaging an archaeological site is a grave criminal offense, for which the punishment by law is up to five years imprisonment.

A graffiti with the name of Knight Adrian von Bubenberg discovered on Mount Zion in Jerusalem

Written sources record that Adrian von Bubenberg came on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1466. More than five centuries later, in a research project documenting pilgrims’ inscriptions, Michael Chernin and Shai Halevi of the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered graffiti of his name and family emblem on a wall in the “King David Tomb Complex” on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. The research results were presented yesterday at the joint conference of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Hebrew University, and Tel Aviv University on “New Archaeological Studies in Jerusalem and the Vicinity.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists carrying out the archaeological survey on Mount Zion were not expecting to discover a graffiti inscription of Knight Adrian von Bubenberg, one of the admired heroes of Switzerland.

The Israel Antiquities Authority Jerusalem Region has recently been carrying out a unique project in the “King David Tomb Complex” on Mount Zion, focusing on documenting graffiti and ancient inscriptions left on the walls by Christian and Muslim pilgrims. They have revealed more than 40 inscriptions in different languages and the family emblems of medieval knights. The decipherment of the hidden graffiti was made possible by advanced technological methods developed by the Israel Antiquities Authority to research the Judean Desert scrolls. These technologies, using multispectral photography and different wavelengths invisible to the human eye, bring inscriptions that have faded and erased over the years to light.

“In the Mamluk period, between 1332–1551, the building complex adjacent to the traditional Tomb of King David was owned by the Monks of the Franciscan Catholic

Order,” said Michael Chernin and Shai Halevi of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who leads the project. “The building served as a monastery and a hostel for the western pilgrims, who left their mark on the walls. Technological methods developed today enable reading the faded inscriptions.”

Amongst the inscriptions and graffiti, the researchers were stunned to discover a charcoal inscription with the name and the heraldic emblem of the family of Adrian von Bubenberg, a Swiss military man and politician from the 15th century, admired to this day as a Swiss National hero. Von Bubenberg was born to a noble family in 1424. After long service as Mayor of Bern, he gained fame in 1476 when he led the Swiss Confederate army in the Battle of Murten and defeated the army of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who threatened the independence of Switzerland. Following this glorious victory over one of the strongest armies in Europe, the Swiss soldiers gained prestige as fierce fighters who did not fear more powerful enemies. This reputation enabled Switzerland to maintain its independence amongst more extensive and aggressive neighboring states until modern times.

After he died in 1479, and in gratitude for his protection of Bern and Switzerland, von Bubenberg was buried in a place of honor in the Cathedral of Bern. A statue of Adrian von Bubenberg adorns one of the central squares of Bern, and many streets in Swiss cities are named after him. Since his son, Adrian (II) von Bubenberg (1458–1501), also visited Jerusalem, it is impossible to determine whether father or son wrote his name. Still, the discovery of the Israel Antiquities Authority researchers provides direct evidence for the connection between medieval Switzerland and Jerusalem.

Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority: “The research carried out in Jerusalem embraces religions and cultures worldwide. Believers, pilgrims, and visitors seeking to contact sanctified Jerusalem left traces that the Israel Antiquities Authority researchers reveal and record daily.”

A buried treasure of 44 Byzantine gold coins was discovered in the Hermon River National Park

The hidden coin hoard provides evidence for a dramatic moment in the country’s history – the Muslim conquest of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. According to Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeologist Dr. Yoav Lerer, “the person who hid the coins between the stones of the wall probably fled, hoping to later retrieve his property, but he failed to return.”

A treasure of 44 pure gold coins was recently discovered in archaeological excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the site of Paneas (later known as Banias), within the Hermon River Nature Reserve. The excavations, funded by the Israel Electric Corporation, were carried out before connecting the adjacent Druze holy site Maqam Nabi Khadr to the national electricity grid.

Dr. Gabriela Bijovsky, Israel Antiquities Authority numismatic expert, examined the coin hoard, composed entirely of gold solidus coins, and identified some coins of Emperor Phocas (602–610 CE), and many coins minted by Emperor Heraclius (610–641 CE). The latest coins of Heraclius date the coin hoard to the time of the Muslim Conquest of Byzantine Palestine in 635 CE.

According to Dr. Yoav Lerer, Director of the excavation on behalf of the the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The coin hoard, weighing about 170 g, was concealed within the base of an ashlar stone wall at the time of the Muslim conquest. The discovery reflects a specific moment in time, when we can imagine the owner concealing his fortune in the threat of war, hoping to return one day to retrieve his property. In retrospect, we know that he was less fortunate.” Lerer adds, “The discovery of the coin hoard may also shed light on the economy of the city of Banias during the last 40 years of Byzantine rule.”

“Most of the coins are of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius,” adds Dr. Bijovsky, “and what is particularly interesting is that in his early years as emperor, only his portrait was depicted on the coin, whereas after a short time, the images of his sons also appear. One can actually follow his sons growing up – from childhood until their image appears the same size as their father, who is depicted with a long beard.”

In the excavation, which took place in the northwestern residential quarter of the ancient city of Banias, the remains of buildings, water channels and pipes, a pottery kiln, bronze coins, and fragments of many pottery, glass, and metal artifacts, were found. The finds date to the end of the Byzantine period (early seventh century CE), and to the early Middle Ages (11th–13th centuries).

Banias, now a National Park, is an archaeological site that was settled around a large spring in several periods, first established by Canaanites, who dedicated a shrine to the god Baal. In the Hellenistic period, Banias served as a cultic site to the god Pan (from whence the original Greek name of the site). The settlement reached its peak in the Early Roman period, when Herod the Great, and his son Philip II, entirely rebuilt the city and named it Caesarea Philippi, in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus.

According to Christian tradition, Banias gained fame as the place where the Apostle Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ, and Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In the Byzantine period, a church was built next to the spring. In the Crusader period, in 1129, the Crusaders undertook the fortification of the city to make it a military base from which to attack and conquer Damascus, but this was short-lived as the Moslems conquered the city in 1132 CE.

According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The coin hoard is an extremely significant archaeological find as it dates to an important transitional period in the history of the city of Banias and the entire region of the Levant. The Israel Antiquities Authority, together with the National Parks Authority, will work together to exhibit the treasure to the public.”

Raya Shurky, Director of the National Parks Authority: “The Banias Nature Reserve, endowed with its unique nature and landscape, does not cease to surprise us from a historical-cultural point of view. The gold coin hoard is on a par with the Byzantine Church, possibly the Church of St. Peter, that was recently discovered. The finds include the remains of a mosaic floor and a stone engraved with many crosses, indicating that Banias became a Christian pilgrim site. The church, that was damaged in an earthquake that struck the north of the country, will soon be exhibited to the public visiting the nature reserve.”

World’s Earliest Evidence of Opium Use

Opium residue was found in pottery vessels excavated at Tel Yehud, dating back to the 14th century BC. According to the researchers, the Canaanites used the psychoactive drug as an offering for the dead.

A new study by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science has revealed the earliest known evidence of the use of the hallucinogenic drug opium, and psychoactive drugs in general, in the world. The opium residue was found in ceramic vessels discovered at Tel Yehud, in an excavation conducted by Eriola Jakoel on behalf of the Antiquities Authority. The vessels that contained the opium date back to the 14th century BC, and they were found in Canaanite graves, apparently having been used in local burial rituals. This exciting discovery confirms historical writings and archeological hypotheses according to which opium and its trade played a central role in the cultures of the Near East.

The research was conducted as part of Vanessa Linares’s doctoral thesis, under the guidance of Prof. Oded Lipschits and Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archeology and Prof. Ronny Neumann of the Weizmann Institute, in collaboration with Eriola Jakoel and Dr. Ron Be’eri of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the study was published in the journal Archaeometry.

In 2012, the Antiquities Authority conducted a salvage excavation at the Tel Yehud site, prior to the construction of residences there. A number of Canaanite graves from the Late Bronze Age were found in the excavation, and next to them burial offerings – vessels intended to accompany the dead into the afterlife. Among the pottery, a large group of vessels made in Cyprus and referred to in the study as “Base-Ring juglets,” stood out.

Because the vessels are similar in shape to the poppy flower when it is closed and upside down, the hypothesis arose already in the 19th century that they were used as ritual vessels for the drug. Now, an organic residue analysis has revealed opium residue in eight vessels, some local and some made in Cyprus. This is the first time that opium has been found in pottery in general, and in Base-Ring vessels in particular. It is also the earliest known evidence of the use of hallucinogens in the world.

Dr. Ron Be’eri of the Israel Antiquities Authority says, "In the excavations conducted at Tel Yehud to date, hundreds of Canaanite graves from the 18th to the 13th centuries BC have been unearthed. Most of the bodies buried were those of adults, of both sexes. The pottery vessels had been placed within the graves were used for ceremonial meals, rites, and rituals performed by the living for their deceased family members. The dead were honored with foods and drinks that were either placed in the vessels or consumed during a feast that took place over the grave, at which the deceased was considered a participant. It may be that during these ceremonies, conducted by family members or by a priest on their behalf, participants attempted to raise the spirits of their dead relatives in order to express a request, and would enter an ecstatic state by using opium. Alternatively, it is possible that the opium, which was placed next to the body, was intended to help the person’s spirit rise from the grave in preparation for the meeting with their relatives in the next life".

Vanessa Linares of Tel Aviv University explains: “This is the only psychoactive drug that has been found in the Levant in the Late Bronze Age. In 2020, researchers discovered cannabis residue on an altar in Tel Arad, but this dated back to the Iron Age, hundreds of years after the opium in Tel Yehud. Because the opium was found at a burial site, it offers us a rare glimpse into the burial customs of the ancient world. Of course, we do not know what opium’s role was in the ceremony – whether the Canaanites in Yehud believed that the dead would need opium in the afterlife, or whether it was the priests who consumed the drug for the purposes of the ceremony. Moreover, the discovery sheds light on the opium trade in general. One must remember that opium is produced from poppies, which grew in Asia Minor – that is, in the territory of current-day Turkey – whereas the pottery in which we identified the opium was made in Cyprus. In other words, the opium was brought to Yehud from Turkey, through Cyprus; this of course indicates the importance that was attributed to the drug.”

Dr. Ron Be’eri added, “Until now, no written sources have been discovered that describe the exact use of narcotics in burial ceremonies, so we can only speculate what was done with opium. From documents that were discovered in the Ancient Near East, it appears that the Canaanites attached great importance to ‘satisfying the needs of the dead’ through ritual ceremonies performed for them by the living, and believed that in return, the spirits would ensure the health and safety of their living relatives.”

According to Eli Escusido, Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “New scientific capabilities have opened a window for us to fascinating information and have provided us with answers to questions that we never would have dreamed of finding in the past. One can only imagine what other information we will be able to extract from the underground discoveries that will emerge in the future.”

Ancient finds found in a burial cave from the time of Pharaoh Rameses II

The cave, exposed by a mechanical digger during development works, was accessed for the first time since it was sealed at the time of Rameses II. The artifacts lay on the cave floor as they were laid out in the ancient burial ceremony. Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists: “A once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”

An exceptional and amazing discovery from the time of Rameses II, the Pharaoh associated with the Biblical Exodus from Egypt, was revealed last Wednesday when a mechanical digger penetrated the roof of a cave in the Palmahim Beach National Park, in the course of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority development works. Dror Sitron, Israel Antiquities Authority inspector, was the first to discover the cave.

The Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists mobilized to the site and descended a ladder into the astonishing space that appeared to have frozen in time. The hewn cave was square in form with a central supporting pillar. Several dozens of intact pottery and bronze artifacts were laid out in the cave, precisely as they were arranged in the burial ceremony about 3,300 years ago. These vessels were burial offerings that accompanied the deceased to believe they would serve the dead in the afterlife.

According to Dr. Eli Yannai, Israel Antiquities Authority Bronze Age expert, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery! It is extremely rare to come across an ‘Indiana Jones film set”—a cave floor laid out with vessels untouched for 3,300 years, since the Late Bronze Age, about the time of the powerful King Rameses II. The fact that the cave was sealed, and not looted in later periods, will allow us the employ the modern scientific methods available today to retrieve much information from the artifacts and the residues extant on the vessels, for example. These organic remains are not visible to the naked eye. The cave may provide a complete picture of the funerary customs of the Late Bronze Age. The cave predominantly contains tens of pottery vessels of different forms and sizes, including deep and shallow bowls, some red-painted, footed chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, and lamps for lighting.”

Dr. Yannai considers that some of the storage jars were manufactured along the coast of Syria and Lebanon. Additional smaller vessels, mainly jugs, and juglets, used to store and trade smaller quantities of expensive commodities, were imported from Tyre, Sidon, and other ports along the Lebanese coast. In contrast, other pottery vessels came from Cyprus. These vessel types were imported in large quantities and were popular burial goods.

In addition, bronze arrowheads or spearheads were found in the cave; based on how they lay, they were probably in a quiver made of no longer extant organic material.

“The finds in the cave date to the thirteenth century BCE (Late Bronze Age IIB),” says Dr. Yannai. “In this period, in the long reign of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty Pharaoh Rameses II, the Egyptian Empire controlled Canaan, and the Egyptian administration provided certain conditions for extensive international trade. These economic and social processes are reflected in the burial cave that contains pottery vessels imported from Cyprus and from Ugarit on the northern Syrian coast, as well as from nearby coastal   towns, including Yafo (Jaffa), Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Tel Ajjul, clearly showing that the population of Yavneh-Yam (Palmahim Beach), played an integral part in the lively trading activity that took place along the coast.”

Once discovered, the burial cave was sealed and guarded, but it is evident that it was disturbed by one looter or more, who stole some vessels; this is now under investigation.

According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Raya Shurky, the Director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, “The discovery in the Palmahim National Park is unique and absolutely astonishing! The news of the discovery of the cave spread like wildfire in the academic world, and we have already received requests from many scholars to participate in the planned archaeological excavation. Unfortunately, despite the guard setup, a few items were looted from the cave before it was sealed up, an issue that is now being investigated. Within a few days, we will formulate a plan to carry out the research and the protection of this unique site, which is a feast for the archaeological world and the ancient history of the land of Israel.”

RARE QUARTER-SHEKEL COIN, MINTED BY JEWISH REBELS IN THE GREAT REVOLT 2000 YEARS AGO, WAS HANDED OVER IN THE UNITED STATES TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN AN OFFICIAL CEREMONY

Following a transcontinental intelligence operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York, yesterday (Monday) the US returned to Israel an extremely rare coin, the fourth of its kind known in the world, which was stolen and smuggled out of Israel years ago. It is a quarter shekel coin made of silver, from the fourth year of the Jewish Great Revolt (66-73 CE).

 The ceremony took place Yesterday (Monday) at the office of the Manhattan District Attorney, in the presence of The director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Eli Escusido, Consul General of Israel in New York Asaf Zamir, The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, The Manhattan District Attorney, Mr. Alvin Bragg, and Homeland Security Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Mr. Mike Alfoso

 The Roman Empire had granted local rulers limited permission to mint bronze coins, according to the client rulers' respective degrees of importance and how close they were to the central government. Minting silver coins was a much more limited privilege granted to lesser number of more important and central cities.

"Because of this, the minting of silver coins by the leaders of the Great Revolt was in fact a declaration of independence by the Jews in the land of Israel, a statement against the mighty empire that stood before them. Many of the rebels' silver coins were struck over imperial silver coins, covering the emperor's face with Jewish motifs. This gave the coin a much greater symbolic value than the monetary value of the coin itself," explained Ilan Hadad, archaeologist and inspector in charge of commerce at the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit (ATPU) of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Quarter Shekel coins from the fourth year of the revolt have not previously been found in situ in archaeological excavations. One similar coin was acquired in the 1930s by the British Museum, and about three more unofficially "circulate" in the antiquities black market and among various collectors.

 In 2002, Palestinian antiquities looters unearthed a hoard of coins from the period of the Great Revolt in the Elah Valley area. Among the coins in the hoard was a quarter shekel made of silver from 69 CE –– a year before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The Israel Antiquities Authority spent the next two decades attempting to locate the coin, which passed through illicit antiquities markets in Israel, Jordan, and the United Kingdom. In London, false provenance papers were prepared to export the Quarter Shekel from the UK to the US, where it was offered for sale at the Heritage Auction's World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction scheduled for August 3, 2017, in Denver, Colorado.

 Earlier this year, the case was passed to Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU). Working closely together, the Israeli Antiquities Authority and the ATPU developed sufficient evidence to execute a seizure warrant for the coin and received a court order repatriating the coin to Israel.

The investigation was conducted by Supervising Investigative Analyst Apsara Iyer, Investigative Analysts Daniel Healey and Hillary Chassé, and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Megan Buckley, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, and Senior Trial Counsel. Investigative support was provided by Ilan Hadad and Eitan Klein of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Shaaban Abdel Gawad of Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, Detective Constable Sophie Hayes of New Scotland Yard, Aktham Oweidi of Jordan's Department of Antiquities, and Homeland Security Investigations in both Tel Aviv and Denver. We also thank Afeef Herzalla for his assistance and cooperation with this investigation.

According to Bogdanos: "Today's repatriation to Israel of this extraordinary coin represents a cherished piece of history finally going home. But it also represents an equally extraordinary partnership between New York's Antiquities Trafficking Unit and the Israeli Antiquities Authority. It is a partnership that should be used as a model in recovering pillaged cultural heritage worldwide." 

 At an official and state restitution ceremony held Today at the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York, Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Escusido said, "This is a historic achievement for the State of Israel and the preservation of its cultural heritage assets, as this is only the second time they were ever looted and smuggled out of Israel that they were returned to the state. This is the beginning of a very positive and important trend for restoring cultural heritage assets."

Ambassador Asaf Zamir, Consul General of Israel in New York, said, "This singular artifact is a stark reminder of the Jewish people's millennia-old connection to the land of Israel. We thank the IAA and the DA's office for restoring this priceless coin to its rightful home."

Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said in his speech: "As Israel's Ambassador to the UN, this event is especially important to me because the Palestinians are working at the UN to hide the history of our people and erase our connection to the Land of Israel. But no matter how many lies are spread, the truth cannot be erased and the truth is laid out here this evening for all to see. This coin is evidence of the eternal bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, and as Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, I can also utilize it in my mission to fight the lies of our enemies."

An intelligence operation led to the repatriation to Israel of an extremely rare document from the First Temple-period

There are only three papyri from this period in the Collections of the Israel National Treasures

In a joint intelligence operation, the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Professor Shmuel Ahituv, recipient of the Israel Prize for Biblical Studies, with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage succeeded in repatriating a First Temple-period document dated to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE. The paper is written in ancient Hebrew script on papyrus, and it was probably found in the Judean Desert caves.  

The extremely rare document is composed of four torn lines that begin with the words “To Ishmael send….”, the text hinting that it is a fragment of a letter containing instructions to the recipient. Based on the writing, it is proposed to date the ‘Ishmael Papyrus’ to the seventh to sixth centuries BCE, joining only two other documents from this period in the Israel Antiquities Authority Dead Sea Scrolls collection. All three papyri come from the Judean Desert, where the dry climate enables the preservation of the papyri.

The story began when Dr. Ada Yardeni, a scholar of Ancient Hebrew Script, passed away in June 2018, and Prof. Shmuel Ahituv was asked to complete the publication of a document she was working on. Ahituv was surprised to encounter the photograph of a rare and, until then, unknown document from the First Temple period, together with Yardeni’s preliminary decipherment. This led to a joint campaign by Ahituv and the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority to locate the whereabouts of the original document.

The intelligence mission succeeded, and the person who owned the papyrus, a resident of Montana, USA, was located. He explained that the papyrus was given to his mother when she visited Jerusalem in 1965 by Joseph Sa‘ad, Curator of the Rockefeller Museum, and Halil Iskander Kandu, a well-known antiquities dealer from Bethlehem, who many years ago sold thousands of Dead Sea scroll fragments. Back home, his mother hung the framed scroll fragment on the wall.

To persuade the owner to transfer the fragile document to Israel, where it would be conserved in climate-controlled conditions, he was invited to visit the Israel Antiquities Authority Judean Desert Scroll Department’s Conservation Laboratory in Jerusalem. After the visit, the owner was convinced that there were the best conditions to conserve and research the rare document, and he generously gave it to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Unit conserved the papyrus and documented it with the modern multispectral system used to monitor the state of the scrolls. A small sample was radiometrically dated in the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot to confirm that the document was genuine. The sample provided a date similar to that determined by the paleographic evaluation (based on the letter forms), thus consolidating the dating towards the end of the First Temple period.

According to Professor Shmuel Ahituv, “The name Ishmael mentioned in the document was a common name in the Biblical period, meaning ‘God will hear.’ It first appears in the Bible as the name of the son of Abraham and Hagar, and it is subsequently the personal name of several individuals in the Bible, including Yishmael ben Netanyahu, who murdered the governor Gedaliah ben Ahikam. It also appears as the name of officials on paleographic finds such as bullae (clay stamp seals) used for sealing royal documents in the administration of the Kingdom of Judah, for example, the bulla reading, ‘To Yishmael, son of the king.’ The present document probably certified a dispatched either to or from Yishmael.”

“Towards the end of the First Temple period, writing was widespread,” says Dr. Joe Uziel, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Judean Desert Scrolls Unit. “This is evident from many finds, including groups of ostraca (documents written on pottery sherds) and stamp seals with writing, that have been discovered in many ancient urban settlements, including in the royal capital of Jerusalem. However, First Temple-period documents written on organic materials—such as this papyrus—have scarcely survived. While we have thousands of scroll fragments dating from the Second Temple period, we have only three documents, including this newly found one, from the First Temple period. Each new document sheds further light on the literacy and the administration of the First Temple period.”

According to Dr. Eitan Klein, deputy director of the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Returning this document to Israel is part of ongoing efforts undertaken by the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of the State of Israel, a heritage that belongs to all its citizens, playing a role in the story of the historical heritage of the country and its inhabitants over the centuries. The legal and worthy place for this artifact is in the Israel Antiquities Authority Dead Sea Scrolls Unit. We are trying to retrieve additional fragmentary scrolls abroad and bring them to Israel.”

Hili Tropper, Minister of Culture and Sport: The Israel Antiquities Authority, together with the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, is initiating the discovery of impressive antiquities and continues to surprise us with their success in locating lost archaeological treasures. The Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority acts vigorously to uproot the phenomenon of antiquity looting, to allow all to appreciate the national heritage and to deepen our roots.”

Zeev Elkin, Minister of Construction and Housing, and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage: “This important discovery joins an impressive array of archaeological discoveries exposed in recent years in the Judean Desert area. Since I was appointed Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage a year and a half ago, the office has allocated about 4 million shekels to the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit, has initiated the survey of the Judean Desert together with the Israel Antiquities Authority, and has set up an inter-ministerial committee to deal with the destruction of heritage sites in Judea and Samaria. We are taking continuous action and investing millions of shekels in developing, preserving, and saving heritage sites throughout the country. We will continue to strengthen the bond between the public and the national heritage of the Jewish people, as it is coming to light in the desert caves, in the Golan, and throughout Israel.”

According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Repatriating this rare document is part of an extensive process led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, aiming, on the one hand, to prevent the illegal sale of the ancient scrolls that were plundered from the Judean Desert in the past, and on the other hand, to prevent further plundering of the cultural heritage finds extant in the desert today. In this context, the Israel Antiquities Authority initiated the Judean Desert Survey, which reestablished Israeli control of the area, spread a blanket of legal enforcement, and propagated research activity on the items of cultural heritage found in the Judean Desert caves.”

A Rare and Prestigious Collection of Decorated Ivories from the First Temple Period Found in the City of David

“The king also made a large throne of ivory, and he overlaid it with refined gold” (1 Kings 10:18) 

These fine items were inlaid in a couch-throne placed in a palatial structure. The discovery, unearthed in excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University in the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, sheds new light on the power and importance of Jerusalem at the time of the Judahite Kingdom.

An extraordinary discovery was unearthed in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, among the few found anywhere in the world and the first of their kind to be found in Jerusalem. They came to light in the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University excavations at the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park; the excavations are funded by the City of David Foundation. The ivories considered one of the costliest raw materials in the ancient world – even more than gold – were found among the ruins of a palatial building in use when Jerusalem was at the height of its power (the eighth and seventh centuries BCE). Scholars believe that the decorated ivories were inlaid in wooden furnishings that were used by the residents of the building – people of means, influence, and power, possibly high government officials or priests. The ivories will be displayed next Tuesday, September 13th, at the 23rd Conference of the City of David Studies of Ancient Jerusalem. They will also be displayed in October at the Jerusalem Conference of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University.

According to the excavation directors, Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority: “To date, we only knew of decorated ivories from the capitals of the great kingdoms in the First Temple period, such as Nimrud, the capital of Assyria, or Samaria, the capital of the Israelite Kingdom. Now, for the first time, Jerusalem joins these capitals. We were already aware of Jerusalem’s importance and centrality in the region during the First Temple period. Still, the new finds illustrate how important it was and places it in the same league as the capitals of Assyria and Israel. The discovery of the ivories is a step forward in understanding the political and economic status of the city as part of global administration and economy.”

Ivory is mentioned only a few times in the Bible, always in connection with royalty or great wealth – the description of the throne of King Solomon (I Kings 10:18); an ivory palace built by King Ahab in Samaria (1 Kings 22:39);  and the prophet Amos’ castigation of Israelite nobility: “They lie on ivory beds, lolling on their couches” (Amos 6:4).

The impressive building in which the ivories were unearthed was devastated in a massive fire, apparently during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The ivories were discovered smashed into tiny pieces, and burnt. During the excavation, as part of the wet-sieving project in Emek Tsurim National Park, no fewer than 1,500 fragments were found. Only after a unique restoration project led by conservator Orna Cohen and Ilan Naor from the Israel Antiquities Authority were the plaques restored, and the richness of the assemblage was revealed. “At the end of the process of joining and ‘fusing’ hundreds of the fragments, we were able to understand that the assemblage includes remnants of at least 12 small square plaques –  about 5 cm x 5 cm, at most 0.5 cm thick – which were originally inlaid in wooden furnishings,” Cohen and Naor said.

The ivories discovered were not the only prestigious items found at the site. A seal made of agate (a semi-precious stone) was also unearthed, as well as a seal impression carrying the name “Natan-Melech servant of the king,” jars that had held vanilla-spiced wine, decorated stone items, and wooden objects that were part of other large wooden furnishings.

Decorated ivories are the rarest and most outstanding finds in archaeological assemblages. Their prestige stems from the source of the ivory: microscopic testing by Harel Shohat of the University of Haifa revealed that they were made from elephant tusk.

“The prestige of ivory is also associated with the great skill required to work with it and create decorations,” Prof. Gadot and Dr. Shalev explain. “The assemblage of ivory discovered in the City of David was probably imported and originally made by artisans from Assyria. The ivories may have come to Jerusalem as a gift from Assyria to Jerusalem’s nobility. Following a comparison with complete objects that appear on wall plaques from the palace of the Assyrian King Sennacherib at Nineveh, we suggest that the ivory plaques from Jerusalem were originally inlaid in a couch-throne, and we may imagine that it had been situated on the second floor of the opulent structure.”

The decorations on most of the ivories were the same, consisting of frames incised with rosettes in the center of which was a stylized tree. Other plaques were adorned with lotus flowers and a geometric pattern. According to Dr. Ido Koch and Reli Avisar of Tel Aviv University, who studied the objects, the rosette and the tree were popular symbols in the Mesopotamian visual repertoire and other cultural centers. Ivory objects with similar decorations were discovered in the assemblage of ivories from Samaria and in more distant palaces, such as Nimrud and Khorsabad in the heart of the Assyrian Empire. The Judahite elite adopted these symbols during the time that Judah was under the rule of the Assyrian Empire (beginning in the second half of the eighth century BCE).

Interestingly, these three symbols appeared at that time in Judah as symbols of the kingdom both on stone items that adorned opulent buildings (decorated stone capitals discovered in Jerusalem at Armon HaNatziv, at Ramat Rachel and Nahal Rephaim, as well as seals used in the royal administration (rosette seals were used to stamp jars, marking their contents as belonging to the royal household). Even more interesting is that the animal and human mythological figures on ivory items discovered in Samaria, Nimrud, and other centers do not exist in the Jerusalem assemblage. “It’s possible that what we have here is evidence of a cultural choice by the Jerusalem elite as to which global symbols to adopt and which to reject,” the scholars say.

Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: “The excavations in the City of David never stop surprising us. This time, with the help of the delicate and inspiring work of conservators and researchers, we have been given a glimpse into the daily life of the people who lived here thousands of years ago. These discoveries breathe life into the ancient stones. The realization that the material culture of the social elites in Jerusalem in the First Temple period did not fall short of – and perhaps even exceeded – that of the other ruling centers in the Ancient Near East demonstrates the status and importance of Jerusalem at that time.”

A 500,000 year-old elephant tusk discovered in the southern coastal plain of Israel

The discovery of a complete tusk of a straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) near Kibbutz Revadim in southern Israel sheds new light on the fascinating life of prehistoric humanity. Archaeologists, paleontologists, and conservators from the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and Ben Gurion University uncovered the 2.5-meter-long ancient tusk. It is not an illusion, as gigantic elephants roamed and grazed the prehistoric landscape of the coastal plain of Israel half a million years ago, as attested by this exceptionally well-preserved ancient elephant tusk.

At the end of an intensive two-week excavation named "Operation Elephant," specialists from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory at Tel Aviv University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, have exposed the ancient elephant tusk that was concealed in the ground for hundreds of thousands of years.

Dr. Eitan Mor, a biologist from Jerusalem, was the first to discover the fossil. He visited the area out of curiosity after reading about prehistoric elephants. Mor says, "To my surprise, I spotted something that looked like a large animal bone peeping out of the ground. When I looked closer, I realized it was 'the real thing,' so I rushed to report it to the Israel Antiquities Authority".

The Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists arrived at the site following Mor's report and could hardly believe their eyes. "From our previous archaeological excavations at Revadim, we knew that the site was settled in the Late Lower Paleolithic period, as stone and flint tools, as well as animal bone, remains (including elephants) were retrieved but finding this half a million-year-old complete elephant tusk in such a good condition is something else! This is the largest complete fossil tusk ever found at a prehistoric site in Israel or the Near East," says Israel Antiquities Authority prehistorian Avi Levy, the excavation director.

Extracting the large tusk from the site sediments is a great challenge, even for experienced archaeologists and conservators. "The fossilized tusk is extremely fragile, and it is likely to disintegrate when exposed to the air and sunlight and human touch," explains Prof. Israel Hershkovitz from the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory at Tel Aviv University. "The tusk was subjected to an initial conservation treatment when it was first discovered. We are excavating it within its archaeological context before transferring it to the Israel Antiquities Authority Conservation Laboratory, where it will be studied and conserved."

Elephants roamed our region a million and a half years ago, living alongside other large mammals, such as wild cattle, hippopotami, deer, wild boars, and wild horses. However, finding elephant remains at archaeological sites is uncommon, and this discovery is of great scientific interest. "The tusk belongs to the straight-tusked elephant species, known from only a few sites. The species appeared in our region about 800,000 years ago, and 400,000 years ago, it became extinct. It was a gigantic elephant, larger than the present-day African elephant," points out Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeo-zoologist Dr. Lee Perry-Gal.

"In the archaeological excavations that we conducted here several years ago, we found some elephant bones (skull parts, ribs, and teeth), and flint artifacts, such as flake tools, hand-axes, and chopping tools used in processing animal flesh," report Prof. Ofer Marder of Ben-Gurion University and Dr. Ianir Milevski, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Prehistory Branch. "The discovery of the tusk, detached from the skull and the rest of the body, raises questions – Is the tusk the remains of a hunted elephant, or was it collected by the local prehistoric inhabitants? Did the tusk have social or spiritual significance?"

Ethnographic studies reveal that a large group of people carried out elephant hunting. "The concentration of the material remains—mostly stone tools— in the current excavation and at the entire site indicates that there was a substantial number of people at the site in one period of time and that elephants were hunted. In the hot, dry climate in our region, elephant's meat could not stay fresh for long, so it must have been consumed quickly by many people, probably as part of a communal event," said Prof. Israel Hershkovitz from the Dan David Center at Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Omry Barzilai from the Israel Antiquities Authority. There is an ongoing academic debate about the role of elephants in the Lower Paleolithic period – were they routinely hunted as a central component in the human diet, or were they hunted only on special occasions of social significance? We anticipate that the discovery of the new tusk in a clear archaeological context will shed light on this issue."

The new joint project of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and Ben Gurion University is expected to answer critical questions regarding the life of prehistoric elephant hunters and their social behavior in a fascinating period of human history that reflects the establishment of humans at the top of the food chain.

According to the Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Mr. Eli Escusido, "The elephant tusk is an archaeological find of primary importance for the academic community and public interest. Consequently, once the conservation process is completed, we plan to exhibit the tusk to the public in our permanent exhibition hall at the new Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.

The Finest 1,200-year-old Rural Estate Discovered in the Negev in Southern Israel

A 1,200-year-old luxurious rural estate, the first of its kind in the Negev, was exposed in the archaeological excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the government through the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin before the expansion of the town of Rahat. A surprise awaited the archaeologists in the building courtyard: a unique vaulted complex overlying a three-meter-deep rock-hewn water cistern.

The building, dating to the Early Islamic period (8th-9th centuries CE), was constructed around a central courtyard, and it comprised four wings with rooms to serve the needs of the residents. In one wing, a hall was paved with a marble and stone floor and walls decorated with frescoes (wall paintings on damp plaster). The extant small fresco fragments were finely colored in red, yellow, blue, and black. Other rooms in the building had plaster floors, and very large ovens—probably for cooking—were uncovered in different rooms. Amongst the small finds were fragments of delicate decorated glass serving dishes.

According to Oren Shmueli, Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi, and Dr. Noé D. Michael, the directors of the Israel Antiquities Authority excavations: “This is a unique discovery unknown until today. We were surprised to discover a complex of stone-built vaults at a depth of 5.5 m below the courtyard, standing at 2.5 m. The vaults were carefully constructed, and they probably led into additional underground complexes that have not yet been uncovered. Our biggest surprise was discovering an opening below the vaulted rooms that led into a deep rock-hewn cistern. The stone-built underground vaults were built as storerooms to store foodstuffs at reasonably cool temperatures. The supporting vaulted structures enabled the residents to move around underground safely and comfortably, protect themselves from the scorching summer heat, and drink cool water from the adjacent cistern. The clay oil lamp sherds retrieved on the vault floors were used for lighting the dark rooms, providing evidence of the residents’ activity here.

“The luxurious estate and the unique, impressive underground vaults are evidence of the owners’ means. Their high status and wealth allowed them to build a luxurious mansion that served as a residence and for entertaining; we can study the construction methods and architectural styles, as well as learn about daily life in the Negev at the beginning of Islamic rule”, say the excavation directors.  

According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “ The excavation in Rahat is the result of close cooperation between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin. The luxurious estate was uncovered in an area between two ancient mosques, perhaps among the earliest ever discovered. By a good chance, and much to the local population’s interest and excitement, the Islamic building remains have been discovered in the area planned for expanding the town of Rahat. The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin are planning to conserve and exhibit the finds to the general public.”