Stone bowl from Neolithic period found in Galilee

Jerusalem Post ^ | Tuesday, September 25, 2012 [9 Tishri, 5773] | staff

[SunkenCiv]

200 colored beads found in a bowl, and ostrich figures carved on a stone plate alongside animal figurines have been discovered on Sunday at the Ein Zippori national park, located in the Lower Galilee.

Ahead of the widening of Highway 79, extensive archaeological excavations have been conducted by the Antiquities Authority. During the excavations, a variety of impressive prehistoric artifacts have been uncovered.

Prehistoric settlement remains that range in date from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (c. 10,000 years ago) to the Early Bronze Age (c. 5,000 years ago) are at the Ein Zippori site, which extends south of Ein Zippori spring.

The site, extending over c. 200 dunams, might be the largest in the country where there are remains of the "Wadi Rabah" culture.

This culture is named after the site where it was first discovered (in the region of Rosh Ha-Ayin), and is common in Israel from the end of the sixth millennium and beginning of the fifth millennium BCE".

According to Dr. Ianir Milevski and Nimrod Getzov, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The presence of remains from the Wadi Rabah culture in most of our excavation areas and in surveys that were performed elsewhere at the site shows that Ein Zippori is an enormous site. It turns out that this antiquities site is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the country where there are remains of this culture."

A multitude of artifacts has been uncovered in the excavation, including pottery, flint tools, basalt vessels and artistic objects of great importance.

[SunkenCiv]

for your pinging pleasure:

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=2935814%2C0

[aposiopetic]

They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

[skeeter]

Seeing as though it dates from before 610AD I hope the muslims don’t get ahold of it.

[albionin]

It must be amazing to hold something that old in your hands and know that a human being made it 10,000 years ago.

I once drank some 10,000 year old water melted from a piece of glacier ice. Just think that snow fell on that glacier about the time that bowl was made.

[boop]

The Stone Bowl? Musta missed that one between the Alamo Bowl and the Orange Bowl.

Or was it the Outback Steakhouse Bowl?

[Conservative4Ever]

This reminds me of Mitchner’s novel THE SOURCE. Great read.

[SunkenCiv]

They didn’t use inflatable balls back then, so, lots of broken fingers, thanks to the rocks they threw instead.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[SunkenCiv]

It could be as little as 5000 years old. :’) There was a sponsored ad on Facebook the other day, ancient coins; the company has a lot of non-coin items for sale, including a really nice pot, similar in style and age to some that our local museum has, and calls “Nile siltware” — about 3000 to 3500 BC. It was out of my price range, and an atmospherically controlled case would be five or six times as much as the artifact. :’)

But anyway, there’s a plate from about 7000 years ago, it’s from the time when ceramics really started to catch on, I’d look for a link but I’m dozin’ off here. :’)

[Fred Nerks]

The most importance finds are stone seals or amulets bearing geometric motifs and stone plaques and bone objects decorated with incising. Among the stone plaques is one that bears a simple but very elegant carving depicting two running ostriches.

national news link

[RitchieAprile]

wonder if the beads represented value, and were money?

sure reminds me of SW US potter, perhaps NM.

[Altariel]

So THAT’s where I left my bowl-o-beads.

You have NO idea how long I’ve been searching for that....

[ApplegateRanch]

I tried making a stone bowl once. It ended up looking more like a bowel stone.

Thank you! I’ll be here all week, unless you pan me, in which case I’ll be here two weeks.

[Dustbunny]

Wow, really nice.

[colorado tanker]

From About:

"The Wadi Raba culture is the name given to the neolithic culture of the Levant region of the middle east, dated to the 5th millennium BC. The economy of Wadi Raba consisted of goat and sheep raising farmers living in rectangular houses in settlements."

[marsh2]

That is EXACTLY what flashed through my mind.