Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,100-year-old farmstead while conducting excavations in the Galilee region.
According to CBN News, the farm dates back to the Hellenistic Hasmonean period before Jesus Christ was born. The Hasmonean Dynasty, a Jewish dynasty, ruled over ancient Judea from 142 to 63 BC.
“We were very lucky to discover a time-capsule, frozen in time, in which the finds remained where they were left by the occupants of the site, and it seems that they left in haste in [the] face of an impending danger, possibly the threat of a military attack,” excavation director Dr. Amani Abu-Hamid said. Abu-Hamid is running the excavation on behalf of the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
So far, archaeologists are unsure who lived in the ancient farmstead and why they left it.
Various artifacts, including coins, loom weights for weaving garments, iron tools and ceramic containers, were also found in the evacuation.
“The weaving loom weights were still on the shelf. The storage jars were intact. We know from the historical sources that in this period, the Judean Hasmonean Kingdom expanded into the Galilee, and it is possible that the farmstead was abandoned in the wake of these events, Abu-Hamid said, according to The Jerusalem Post. “More research is required to determine the identity of the inhabitants of the site.”
Abu-Hamid also noted that the discovery of the farmstead was unprecedented since no other remains from the Hellenistic Hasmonean period have ever been discovered.
The foundations of buildings, pottery, and other artifacts from the 10th-9th centuries BC were discovered at the excavation site. Archeologists will work to preserve the site and conduct more research into its former residents.
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Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Krugloff, this is a stock image.
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
