(photo from Israel Antiquities Authority via Ashernet)
Described by Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archeologists as “extraordinary,” a jug estimated to be some 3,800 years old – seen here being restored in an IAA laboratory – was found by high school students taking part in a Land of Israel and Archeology matriculation stream excavation. This excavation is part of a new training course offered by IAA and the Ministry of Education, which seeks to connect the students with the past and help prepare the archeologists of the future. The jug, which is from the Middle Bronze Age, was found in Yehud (near Ben-Gurion International Airport) at a site being examined prior to planned construction of residential buildings. Also found, in addition to the jug, were items such as daggers, arrowheads, an axe head, other vessels, a churn for making butter, sheep bones and what are very likely the bones of a donkey.