Trove of ancient Canaanite jewelry found in Israel

Archaeologists have unearthed an exquisite collection of 3,000-year-old jewelry, including hundreds of beads, gold earrings and a seal ring at Tel Megiddo in northern Israel.

Wrapped in textiles and hidden in a ceramic vessel found at the Jezreel Valley excavation site, the trove includes eight gold moon-shaped earrings, around 1,000 gold, silver and carnelian beads, and an intricate gold earring featuring a series of molded wild goats which researchers say is unique.

The clay vessel was unearthed in summer 2010 but it underwent six months of molecular analysis before it was cleaned and examined by experts, Tel Aviv University’s archaeology department said.

“When they were finally able to wash out the dirt, pieces of jewellery, including a ring, earrings, and beads, flooded from the vessel,” said Professor Israel Finkelstein, a co-director of the excavation of Tel Megiddo.

According to the researchers, the finding originates from the “Iron I” period which dates back to around 1100 BC, and at least some of the pieces could have originated in nearby Egypt.

The archaeologists believe the collection may have belonged to a Canaanite woman who lived in the house where it was found.

But even with the Canaanite and Egyptian links, the gold earring with the goat figurines is “without parallel.”

“For unique items, we work to find parallels to help place the items in their correct cultural and chronological settings, but in this case we still haven’t found anything,” the researchers said.

Tel Megiddo was a Canaanite city-state until the early 10th century BC and a pivotal center of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th and 8th centuries BC, the university said