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, the location of the ancient city of Megiddo, in present-day
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
called
Megiddo,
Jezreel Valley, 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 ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli un ...
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 stone beads, wrapped in scraps of fabric
The contents was probably owned by a wealthy
Canaanite family, likely belonging to the ruling elite.
It has been dated to the time period just after the
Egyptian Empire's withdrawal from Canaan around 1,130 BCE.
Megiddo Expedition
The collection was discovered by the
Megiddo Expedition, operated by
Tel Aviv University 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)
Archaeological discoveries in Israel
Treasure troves of Asia
2010 archaeological discoveries