BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Prehistoric Ivory Jar Found Near Be’er Sheva

Indicates early connections between Africa and the Levant

It was the last day of the 2020 excavation season for the archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovering the site of Horbat Raqiq near Be’er Sheva. As they were taking final measurements, an edge of a basalt vessel protruding from the ground caught their attention. As many could attest, fascinating discoveries tend to happen at the very last moment. This time was no different, as the IAA detailed in media outlets last week.

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When archaeologists fully excavated the area, they found three large bowls made of basalt positioned in such a way that one was nestled in another, while a third was turned over to rest on top of the two like a cover. This arrangement was surely intentional. Under the improvised lid was a pile of dirt with little pieces of ivory inside the middle bowl. It was only much later, in the lab, that specialists in ancient vessels and materials fully appreciated the value of the find.

It turns out the shattered pieces were elephant tusk ivory. Through a tedious process of cleaning and matching the many fragments, specialists were able to determine that they belonged to a small jar. At about 6,000 years old, this jar dates to the prehistoric period called the Chalcolithic, which in the southern Levant lasted from the end of fifth through most of the fourth millennium BCE. This is the first time a Chalcolithic ivory vessel has been found in Israel. The specific type of jar is known as an amphoriskos and was used for storing ointments and perfumes. It measures about 8 inches tall, and there are four small holes drilled symmetrically on the outside to function as handles: Two at the neck and two at the base.

The ivory jar was apparently broken already in antiquity. Why? And why was it subsequently deposited with such care? Usually, when a statue, figurine, or vessel is found broken and buried, scholars assume it was for ceremonial reasons—either as a foundation deposit or to ritually discard a religious item. Specialists with the IAA, therefore, suspect this jar points to cultic ceremonial activities at the site and that we’re dealing here with a cultic deposit. “From the manner in which the bowls were arranged, the ivory vessel, which was broken already in antiquity, was clearly interred in a deliberate fashion—which would seem to attest to the importance attributed to it,” concluded Dr. Ianir Milevski, former head of the IAA prehistoric branch.

This recently reconstructed ivory jar attests to exchange between the southern Levant and Africa already around 4000 BCE. However, several questions remain. Was the jar imported to Horbat Raqiq or was it made locally, from an elephant tusk that had been brought in as raw material? Biomolecular analyses, scheduled to follow the initial examination of the artifact, might determine the origin of the ivory by analyzing the elephant’s diet.

 

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Related reading in Bible History Daily:

 

Tel Be’er Sheva, City of the Patriarchs 

Ivory Riches from First Temple Jerusalem

Neolithic Water Well Excavated Off Levantine Coast

Jewish City Discovered Near Be’er Sheva

 

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Horned Altar for Animal Sacrifice Unearthed at Beer-Sheva

Yigael Yadin Finds a Bama at Beer-Sheva

Beer-Sheva Excavator Blasts Yadin—No Bama at Beer-Sheba

Yadin Answers Beer-Sheva Excavator—Reply to Rainey’s “No Bama at Beer-Sheva”

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