Check out 10 UofH groundbreaking discoveries by UofH researchers recently featured in major media outlets

Haifa archaeologists from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences and Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, had an incredibly productive summer. We are delighted to share their remarkable studies with you.

Hook-shaped masthead fitted with sheaves from the Ma’agan Mikhael shipwreck (7th–8th centuries CE). | Credit: The Ma‘agan Mikhael B Shipwreck Excavation team

A remarkably well-preserved masthead that dates back to 7th–8th centuries CE is shedding light on sailing and shipbuilding during the Late Antiquity period. The hook-shaped artifact fitted with sheaves was discovered intact at the site of the Ma’agan Mikhael shipwreck off the northern coast of Israel. Dr. Deborah Cvikel, from the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, along with Maayan Cohen, a PhD candidate in the Department of Maritime Civilizations, published their findings in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. According to the researchers, artifacts discovered in the shipwreck provide important information about shipbuilding techniques. “The frame-based ship shows that its construction was used earlier than previously thought,” explains Cohen. Researchers are continuing to work on gleaning more information from this shipwreck. READ MORE

Credit: Research Team at Tel Kabri Excavation Project

Archaeologists from the University of Haifa used macro- and micro-archaeology methods to prove that a massive earthquake caused the sudden abandonment of the ancient Canaanite palace and settlement at Tel-Kabri 3,700 years ago. The unusually large and extravagant building included fancy banquet halls and storage rooms filled with more than a hundred jars of spiced wine. A multidisciplinary team from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, which included Dr. Michael Lazar, Prof. Assaf Yasur Landau and Prof. Ruth Shahack-Gross, led the study with a team of researchers from George Washington University. The findings, collected over a multi-year period, were published in the prestigious scientific journal PLoS One and received wide media coverage. “For several years, we investigated what caused the sudden destruction and abandonment of the palace and site, after centuries of prosperity,” explained Prof. Yasur Landau. “The clues we uncovered show that the earthquake split the palace in two - causing Kabri inhabitants to lose faith in the ruling dynasty and abandon the entire complex.” READ MORE in National Geographic

Phoenician figurines roughly 2,500-years-old recovered from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Credit: Jonathan J. Gottlieb

In a recent scientific study of a trove of clay figurines found near the coast of Israel nearly five decades ago, maritime researchers led by Dr. Meir Edrey of the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies proposed a new theory suggesting that the artifacts were thrown into sea by an ancient cult as offerings. “The majority of these figurines display attributes related to fertility, childbearing and pregnancy,” explains Dr. Edrey. The researchers believe that the collection was not deposited there all at once as the result of a shipwreck. Rather, the figurines accumulated over roughly 400 years, between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE, in a series of ritual offerings as part of a cult devoted to seafaring and fertility. READ MORE in The New York Times

Nineteenth century representation of the Battle of Arsuf by Éloi Firmin Féron (1802-1876). Credit: Wikipedia

A pioneering study led by Dr. Rafael Lewis of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology combined evidence from medieval sources with a meticulous reconstruction of local landscape and environmental conditions to zero in on the location of a famous 12th century Crusader battle in the Holy Land. Artifacts found at the site date to the Crusader period, and include arrowheads and pieces of armor at the ancient battlefield in Apollonia–Arsuf where the Crusaders, led by Richard the Lionheart, defeated the Muslim army of Saladin. The findings appear in the latest issue of Tel Aviv University Sonia and the Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology’s Monographic Series. READ MORE

Nearly 10,000 seeds of grape (a), barley grains (b), and wheat grains (c) were retrieved and counted from ancient 11 trash mounds in the Negev. Credit: Daniel Fuks

The Negev Byzantine Bio-Archaeology Research Program, led by Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, is studying Byzantine-era trash dumps to recreate the past. The findings – analyzed with input from multidisciplinary teams from the fields of archeology, history, biology and genetics – point to several factors that contributed to the decline of Negev settlements: a major pandemic, a series of massive volcanic eruptions and international socioeconomic depression. “We’re now seeing that a thriving Byzantine settlement within the Negev desert began its trajectory of societal decline as much as a century earlier than the military events of the Islamic takeover of the region from Byzantine rule in the mid-7th century,” explains Prof. Bar-Oz. Finding from the joint University of Haifa-Bar Ilan University study were recently published in PNAS. READ MORE

Fossil of Microraptor, a four winged dinosaur that lived 120 million years ago. Credit: Yosef Kiat

Uof H researchers, in collaboration with Chinese scientists, document for the first time that some small-winged dinosaurs shed their feathers like modern birds. Dr. Nir Sapir, Head of the Animal Flight Laboratory, and doctoral student Yosef Kiat who led the research explain: “Cutting-edge technology has enabled us to identify clues of ‘sequential wing feather molt’ in a rare and well-preserved fossil specimens of a Microraptor, a small four-winged dinosaur that lived 120 million years ago.” Sequential replacement of flight feathers is thought to be a survival strategy. The evidence, published in the scientific journal, Current Biology, offers a window into the ecosystem of an ancient world and supports the claim that Microraptors could indeed fly. READ MORE

Geometric and gon-geometric microliths from Neve David. Credit: Zinman Institute of Archaeology

Inhabitants of the ancient Neve Daniel settlement (just south of Jerusalem) produced highly effective miniaturized flint tools, suggests recent findings published in the journal PLOS ONE. According to Dr. Iris Groman-Yaroslavski, the study's lead researcher from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, “The tools represent a form of sophistication, ‘the nanotechnology of prehistory,’ doing the same things with smaller tools, similar to modern developments with computers and phones.” READ MORE

Reptile vertebrae found at el-Wad Terrace Cave. Courtesy: Roee Shafir

Archaeologists from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology uncovered evidence that humans living in Israel 15,000 years ago ate snakes and lizards. The research, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that the broadening diet of ancient communities may indicate the transition into a more sedentary lifestyle and a more intense use of resources. The findings, based on the dissertation of doctoral student Ma’ayan Lev and under the supervision of Prof. Mina Weinstein-Evron and Dr. Reuven Yeshurun of the Department of Archaeology, were discovered while excavating in caves near Mount Carmel. READ MORE in Smithsonian Magazine and Live Science.

Marine archeologists from the University of Haifa.

Marine archaeologists, Dr. Ehud Galili of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and Prof. Michal Artzy of the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, have discovered the remains of a treasure-laden Crusader ship which they believe was used to try to flee Acre when forces stormed the city. Among the keel and planks that remain, the archaeologists discovered 30 gold coins. These coins are the key to linking the wreck to the fleeing Crusaders. READ MORE

Clam shell fossils from Misliya Cave in Israel's Carmel Mountains dating back 160,000 years. Credit: Oz Rittner

A collection of 160,000-year-old clam shell fossils found in prehistoric caves in northern Israel may provide the earliest examples of shell beads used as jewelry. A team of archaeologists, led by University of Haifa’s Prof. Iris Groman-Yaroslavski and Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, performed “use-wear” experiments on bittersweet clam (Glycymeris) shell collections excavated in two northern Israel caves. They discovered that the shells were once suspended on string, suggesting that the collection of shells were used to form early humans’ first necklaces. The study was recently published in the open-sourced PLOS One journal. READ MORE