Porcupine unearths 1,400 year old oil lamp at archaeological site in Emek Hefer

Jerusalem Post ^ | March 23, 2015 | JPost staff

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered a 1,400 year-old ceramic oil lamp with the help of an unlikely aide – a porcupine.

Last week, during a routine patrol at the Horbat Siv ancient ruins – a Roman-Byzantine site near Emek Hefer in central Israel, anti-antiquities theft inspectors found the oil lamp on top of a pile of dirt that a porcupine had unearthed while digging a burrow.

Porcupine’s live in underground burrows that can stretch to as long as 15 meters.

Ira Horovitz from the anti-antiquities theft unit of the IAA said that “the porcupine is an excellent archaeologist, a relentless digger... It often happens that porcupines dig their burrows at the site of archaeological digs... he skillfully throws the dirt aside, and with it whatever archaeological findings are in his path.”

IAA researchers inspected the ceramic piece and the other findings that the porcupine uncovered, realizing that the findings provided information on the time frame in which people inhabited the ancient site.

“The IAA calls on all porcupines to avoid digging burrows at archeological sites and warns that digging at an archeological site without a license is a criminal offense,” the Antiquities Authority jested.

[a fool in paradise]

Was it still lit?

[a fool in paradise]

The government United Nations will probably take it away from the critter that found it.

There, I fixed it.

[bgill]

That’d be a prickly situation.

[MrB]

Yeah, but it foolishly wished for balloons.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

http://www.wimp.com/porcupinepuppy/

[SunkenCiv]

I guess we all know about Old King Coel...

[SunkenCiv]

This group would have driven Moe Howard to drink. ;') Thanks all!

[SunkenCiv]

[BenLurkin]

Wish number One:

[EternalVigilance]

Said porcupine was the worst thing he ever ate. You had to boil it for hours.

Yeah. Otherwise it has a real sharp, kind of prickly, taste.

[tet68]

Kewl, I have one very much like it from Roman times.
I used to do work for a antiquities dealer and often
traded out.

[SunkenCiv]

Nice!

[DannyTN]

[tet68]

It was awesome, I used to make museum stands for him,
his house was a museum in itself, artifacts from
basement to attic. I got a few nice things but
that didn’t pay the bills so had to move on.
Got some Tsubas, indonesian spear points, some
colombian pottery and a few african items which
were what h3e maninly specialized in.

[SunkenCiv]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fine

> In many of the Stooge shorts, Fine did more reacting than acting, staying in the background and serving as the voice of reason in contrast to the zany antics of Moe and Curly. He was easily recognized by his hairdo, bald on top with lots of thick, bushy, curly hair around the sides and back for which Moe would often call him “Porcupine”

[DannyTN]

LOL porcupine tie in, excellent!

[DannyTN]

Always ask for more Jeannies....especially that one.

[SunkenCiv]

Well, I am a wise guy.

[a fool in paradise]

Off-topic of 1400 old oil lamps and porcupines but on topic for discoveries and Three Stooges...

Did you ever see Shemp’s lost surrealist film?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQbGsOVHGoU

(yes I know it’s somebody else’s edit)

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

Porcupine thought it was junk and threw it out. Arabs do the same thing, for different reasons.