According to Dr. Danny Rosenberg, an archaeologist from the Department of Archeology at the University of Haifa, this is a unique and very rare item, the discovery of which, in addition to other items discovered in the excavation at the Tel Tsef site in the Jordan Valley, indicates that it was a central site and a hub for international trade at the time
The earliest metal item found so far in the Middle East, a copper spear, was found in excavations at Tel-Zef, according to a new study published by researchers from the Department of Archeology and the Zinman Institute at the University of Haifa, in collaboration with researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Archaeological Institute in Berlin. According to the study, which was published in the prestigious magazine PLOS one, the awl dates to the end of the 6th millennium or the beginning of the 5th millennium BC, and thus it actually precedes by hundreds of years the date that was accepted until now when the peoples of the region began to use metals.
Tel-Zaf, a settlement from the Middle Chalcolithic period (5200-4600 years BC), in the Jordan Valley is located on the banks of the Jordan River near the international border with Jordan. The site was first documented as early as the 50s and was excavated starting at the end of the 70s and is the most important archaeological site in the area from this time period. From the first excavation seasons to the renewed research project led by Dr. Danny Rosenberg from the University of Haifa in collaboration with Dr. Florian Klimsche from the Archaeological Institute in Berlin, the site provided researchers with valuable information.
For example, the researchers found out about the great wealth of the settlement and the long-term trade relations it had thanks to particularly large buildings that were made of mud bricks and a large number of storage silos where wheat and barley grains were stored in unprecedented volumes, many roasting ovens, which testified to events with many participants and many finds Additional items include obsidian items (volcanic glass originating in Anatolia or Armenia), one shell originating from the Nile River in Egypt and other shells from the Mediterranean Sea, human and animal figurines, unique pottery that is not known from almost any other site in the region, and more.
However, it turns out that the most unique find so far was no bigger than 4 cm. Already in a previous excavation at the site, Prof. Yosef Garfinkel from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found a thin awl about 4 cm long and about 1 mm thick at the tip, which was fixed to a wooden handle. The conical awl was found in a sealed grave of a 40-year-old woman who was dug up inside a silo that was no longer in use and around her waist was found a belt made of 1668 beads made from ostrich eggs. The grave itself was covered by several large stones and its presence inside a silo indicates, according to Dr. Rosenberg, both the importance of the burial and the importance of the facility in which she was buried to the members of the community.
However, while the tomb, the woman's skeleton and the bead belt have already been published in the scientific journals, the small awl was published only recently after its chemical composition was tested by Prof. Shariel Shalu from the Department of Archeology at the University of Haifa. As mentioned, an examination of the awl revealed that it is made of copper. According to Dr. Rosenberg, the fact that it was found in a sealed grave indicates that it was buried together with the woman as a burial offering and may have been her personal item. The great importance of the item lies in the fact that until today, researchers thought that the inhabitants of the region began to use metals only in the middle of the fifth millennium BC, so its discovery predates the appearance of metal in our region by several hundred years and has significant implications for our understanding of the development of the use of complex technologies and the social circumstances associated with it.
But this did not end the secrets of the eagle. From the chemical examination of the metal, it emerged that it likely originated in the Caucasus Mountains, which are over 1000 km from Tel-Zef. According to Dr. Rosenberg, while long-term trade relations of settlements in our region are known even from earlier times, the combination of importing new technology related to the processing of new raw material from such distant sources is unique to Tel Tsef and joins many other testimonies to the importance of the site.
Researchers still do not know what exactly the awl was used for, however the very early use of the metal, as well as the remote origin of the metal, indicates the high social status of the woman and the importance of the structure in which she was found. "The appearance of the item in the grave of a woman who represents one of the richest burials known in our region from this period of time testifies to both the importance of the awl and the importance of the woman and it is possible that the buds of complexity and social hierarchy should be seen here. Despite this, in this field there is more hidden than visible, and even though the discovery of the copper awl at Tel Tsef is evidence of an early peak in the technological development of the area's populations and a discovery of global importance, the significant progress is still ahead of us and many parts of the overall picture are still unknown. As we can already see, it seems that at least some of the questions raised by this rare item will be answered within the framework of the multidisciplinary research project that we have been conducting on the site since last year, a project that combines archaeologists and other Israeli researchers from a variety of scientific disciplines, while many and even more complex questions will undoubtedly arise." , concluded Dr. Rosenberg.
