In the fertile land west of the Sea of Galilee, a team of Israeli archaeologists recently unearthed a remarkable discovery, a 2,100-year-old agricultural farmstead.
The old farmstead dates back to the Hellenistic Hasmonean period before Jesus Christ was born. The Hasmonean Dynasty was a ruling Jewish dynasty over ancient Judea from 142 to 63 BC.
“We were very lucky to discover a time-capsule, frozen in time, in which the findings 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,” said Dr. Amani Abu-Hamid, excavation director and an archaeologist of the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
Located in what is today Horbat Assad in Galilee, the ancient farm’s remains appear as though the artifacts were in use moments before the site was abandoned.
Horvat Assad makes up part of a territory allotted to the biblical tribe of Naphtali primarily, as well as to Zebulun and Issachar. The Bible specifically names these three tribes as supplying “plentiful” produce to King David in 1 Chronicles 12:40.
The archaeologists uncovered scythes, coins, loom weights used for weaving garments, iron tools, and ceramic vessels. They also discovered the foundations of buildings, pottery, and other artifacts from 10th-9th centuries B.C.
Abu-Hamid also noted that the discovery of the farmstead was unprecedented since no one has ever found remains from the Hellenistic Hasmonean period in Galilee.
“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.
The excavation will require more research to shed light on the identity of the inhabitants of the ancient farmstead and why they left it.
The site was discovered in a routine dig by Israel’s national water company, Mekorot, for an upcoming project to transport desalinated water to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).