15 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A rare 6,000-year-old elephant ivory vessel was unearthed near Beersheba

A recent excavation near Beersheba in southern Israel uncovered an ivory vessel crafted of elephant tusks dating to the Chalcolithic period (around 4,000 BC). The find is the first Chalcolithic ivory vessel discovered in Israel.

Although the ship was originally disassembled, careful restoration work at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) laboratories has brought it back to its former glory.

The vessel is of a type known to researchers as an amphoriskos, a small jar. This rare find sheds light on ancient trade connections between the Holy Land and Egypt some six millennia ago

The diameter of the ivory container is approximately 8 inches. Its exquisitely designed and skillfully crafted small matching handles are arranged symmetrically around its lower body and neck.

The find is the first Chalcolithic ivory vessel discovered in Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said and was likely either imported from Egypt or carved locally from ivory imported from there.

The broken ivory vessel deposited within the large basalt bowls. Photo: Davida Dagan, Antiquities Authority
The broken ivory vessel deposited within the large basalt bowls. Photo: Davida Dagan, Antiquities Authority

The rare item was discovered in 2020 at Horvat Raqiq, an archaeological site near Beersheba in southern Israel, during infrastructure work to lay a water pipe, the IAA told The Times of Israel.

More than just artifacts were discovered during the excavation at Horbat Raqiq; it also uncovered an old settlement with underground buildings etched into the Loess ground. Emil Aladjem discovered the edge of a basalt vessel during the last stages of the dig, which prompted additional investigation.

Three imposing vessels were found within the excavation site after an extended search. Among them, nestled within layers of soil, lay the shattered remnants of the ivory vessel, carefully interred in antiquity – a testament to its significance.

“This find deepens our understanding of the Chalcolithic period and of the cultural exchange ties of our region with both neighboring and distant cultures,” the researchers said. “The vessel is well-made and makes maximum use of the original tusk – which was a most precious material. If it was manufactured here, it reveals the high standard of craftspeople who dwelt here, who knew how to treat ivory, and also knew elephant anatomy.”

IAA researchers, specialists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and ivory conservationist Olga Negnevitsky collaborated to analyze and restore the ivory vessel, which was a difficult and drawn-out process.

The vessel is to be presented to the public on Thursday in Jerusalem at the annual Israel Prehistoric Society conference, along with other recent prehistoric discoveries.

Cover Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Articles

2,700-year-old Military Roman Port Found in Parion, Türkiye

18 July 2024

18 July 2024

Underwater studies in Parion, a 2,700-year-old port city from the Roman Empire in Kemer village of Biga district of Çanakkale...

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a researchers team have made important...

3,000-Year-Old Lost Anatolian language ‘Kalašma’ deciphered

5 July 2024

5 July 2024

In 2023 excavation site at the foot of Ambarlikaya in Boğazköy-Hattusha in Turkey, a cuneiform tablet with a previously unknown...

Unique Viking Age sword found in Norway

14 June 2022

14 June 2022

A piece of a sword was found last year on a farm in Gausel, in Stavanger, on Norway‘s west coast,...

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon brooches in seven graves during an excavation in Gloucestershire

5 April 2022

5 April 2022

Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches, one pair in each of seven burials unearthed in an excavation...

Mass Grave of 150 Roman Legionaries Discovered in Vienna—First Direct Evidence of Ancient Combat on the Danube Limes

4 April 2025

4 April 2025

Archaeologists from the Vienna Museum have made a groundbreaking discovery on the outskirts of Vienna, unearthing the remains of approximately...

City swallowed by sea now center of boat tours

10 September 2023

10 September 2023

The Kekova region, or Sunken City, which has remained under the sea after two major earthquakes in the sixth century...

Advanced imaging techniques reveal secrets of sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins

21 April 2023

21 April 2023

Researchers from the British Museum have gained valuable insight into the contents of six sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins using...

A rare Roman cornu mouthpiece found at Vindolanda

23 September 2022

23 September 2022

Just south of Hadrian’s Wall, archaeologists have discovered an extremely rare Roman cornu mouthpiece beneath the remains of the ancient...

9,300-year-old Gre Filla Mound in southeastern Turkey to be relocated

20 September 2022

20 September 2022

While public criticism continues due to the fact that Gre Filla, known as Diyarbakır’s Göbeklitepe, is under the dam, Diyarbakır...

A Connection Between Viking Knots And Quantum Vortices Discovered

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Scientists demonstrated how three vortices can be linked in such a way that they cannot be dismantled. Although this study...

Lost sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci show that he understood gravity long before Newton

19 February 2023

19 February 2023

Leonardo da Vinci’s centuries-old sketches show that he may have understood key aspects of gravity long before Galileo, Newton, and...

Extraordinary discovery in France: An unlooted 1800-year-old Roman Sarcophagus discovered

27 September 2023

27 September 2023

Archaeologists from France’s National Institute of Preventive Archeology (INRAP) have unearthed an unlooted ancient stone sarcophagus in the vast ancient...

The Ephesus Massacre: 80,000 Romans Slaughtered in a Single Night of Blood and Betrayal

29 May 2025

29 May 2025

The Ephesus Massacre saw 80,000 or more Romans killed overnight during the Asiatic Vespers — one of the deadliest uprisings...

First direct evidence of drug use as part of Bronze Age ritual ceremonies in Europe

6 April 2023

6 April 2023

An analysis of human hair strands recovered from a burial site in Menorca, Spain, reveals that ancient human civilizations used...