The Megiddo Treasure is a small
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
of jewelry pieces found in 2010, in a ceramic "beer-jug" at the archaeological site of
Tel Megiddo
Tel Megiddo (from ) is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo (; ), the remains of which form a tell or archaeological mound, situated in northern Israel at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley about southeast of Haifa near the depopulate ...
, the location of the ancient city of Megiddo, in present-day
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
called
Megiddo Megiddo may refer to:
Places and sites in Israel
* Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley
* Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel
* Megiddo church (Israel)
* Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel
* Megiddo Juncti ...
,
Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...
, northern Israel. They date to around 1100 B.C.
Jug
The treasure was contained in a "beer-jug". This type of vessel has a characteristic strainer, spout, and single handl
The handle was not recovered; it was likely made of a basket material attached to the rim, and so disintegrated over time.
The beer-jug was the only such vessel found within the house where the treasure was discovered.
It was subjected to molecular analysis at the
Weizmann Institute
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
to determine the contents, and was left unopened while awaiting the results. The exterior of such pottery vessels is normally analyzed to try to identify any substances that were absorbed into it. In this case, there were none.
Contents
The treasure comprises the following items:
*A ring sea
*Nine earrings, one shaped like a basket with a large bird, possibly an ostrich or eagle
*More than 1,000 small gold, silver, and
carnelian
Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...
stone beads, wrapped in scraps of fabric
The contents were probably owned by a wealthy
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
ite family, likely belonging to the ruling elite.
It has been dated to the time period just after the
Egyptian Empire
The New Kingdom, also called the Egyptian Empire, refers to ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC. This period of ancient Egyptian history covers the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties. Through radioc ...
's withdrawal from Canaan around 1,130 BCE.
Megiddo Expedition
The collection was discovered by the
Megiddo Expedition, operated by
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
and a consortium of American universities.
References
{{reflist
External links
Images on ''National Geographic''Image of various items(archived)
Image of the "beer-jug"(archived)
Image of the ring seal(archived)
12th-century BC works
2010 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological discoveries in Israel
Treasure troves of Asia
Tel Megiddo
Hoards of jewellery