Unique 3,800 year-old statuette uncovered in central Israel

One of the unique features of the vessel is that it was created and shaped in several stages, the likes of which have never before been discovered in previous findings.

A spectacular 3,800 year old pottery jug with a unique statuette mounted on it was recently exposed in an excavation in Yehud, in central Israel.

The small vessel, from the Middle Bronze Age, was found together with daggers, an axe head, arrowheads, sheep bones and what are very likely the bones of a donkey, that were probably buried as funerary offerings for one of the respected members of the ancient community.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) conducted the excavation prior to the construction of residential buildings and chanced upon the rare finding, as has been the case on several previous instances where construction in Israel led to an amazing archaeological discovery.

“It literally happened on the last day of the excavation,” said Gilad Itach, excavation director on behalf of the IAA. “The level of precision and attention to detail in creating this almost 4,000 year old sculpture is extremely impressive.”

One of the unique features of the vessel is that it was created and shaped in several stages, the likes of which have never before been discovered in previous findings.

“It was customary in antiquity to believe that the objects that were interred alongside the individual continued with him into the next world,” Itach explained. “To the best of my knowledge such a rich funerary assemblage that also includes such a unique pottery vessel has never before been discovered in the country”.

In addition to the jug and the other supposed gifts, a variety of evidence regarding life as it was lived 6,000 years ago was also exposed. Excavators found pits and shafts containing thousands of fragments of pottery vessels, hundreds of flint and basalt tools, animal bones, and a churn which is a unique vessel that was widely used in the Chalcolithic period for making butter.

Among those taking part in the archaeological excavations were pupils in the Land of Israel and Archaeology studies program, part of a new high school tract offered by the IAA and the Ministry of Education to help train the archaeologists of the future.

“It is exciting to be part of an excavation whose artifacts will be displayed in the museum,” said Ronnie Krisher,” a student who participated in the dig.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

IAAIsraeli historyMiddle Bronze AgeYehud