And I thought the days of archaeological treasures was long past…
The Megiddo Expedition have recently discovered a collection of gold, silver and bronze jewelry, wrapped in fabric, hidden in a vessel at Tel Megiddo. The vessel was found in a domestic context that was dated to the Iron Age I (around 1100 B.C.). This vessel was actually excavated during the 2010 season, but remained uncleaned while awaiting for a molecular analysis of it’s [sic] content (soil). When it was finally emptied during the summer of 2011, the pieces of jewelry appeared.
Both the textile and the jewelry itself were sent to analysis that should tell us more about the origins of this exceptional collection.
According to the biblical record, Megiddo was held by the Canaanites during the period of the judges (Judg 1:27).
Check out the Megiddo Expedition website for some small photos.
HT: Roi Brit
2 thoughts on “Vessel of Jewelry Discovered at Megiddo”
I couldn't help but notice on the Megiddo website a gold ring inscribed with a Nephesh monument, probably the Roman-era tomb of Absalom, but the dummies have the photo rotated 90 degrees the wrong way. While zooming in on the low-resolution photo, I noticed some pixelization. Any minute now I expect to see a post by somebody else on ANE-2 announcing that I just eviscerated the excavator's Iron Age dating of this hoard.
That's funny!