Archaeologists uncovered a 2,500-year-old burial site in the Negev Highlands, shedding light on ancient trade routes that connected cultures from Yemen, Phoenicia, Egypt, and beyond, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on February 5.
The site, south of Beer-Sheva, contains dozens of tombs believed to belong to individuals from caravans that passed through the region, highlighting Negev’s role as an international crossroads during the 7th to 5th centuries BCE.
Archaeologists found copper and silver jewellery, alabaster items used for incense preparation, amulets, beads, and vessels likely used to transport incense resins.
“The discovery is unique and it points to wide-reaching cultural interchange between southern and northern Arabia, Phoenicia, Egypt and southern Europe,” said excavation director Martin David Pasternak.
They also found arrowheads made of flint, a material associated with ancient trade from Yemen and Oman, with traces of ochre.
“The presence of ochre on these arrowheads may indicate their religious or cultic significance as having special value,” explained Jacob Vardi, an Antiquities Authority specialist in flint tools.
The tombs raise intriguing questions about their purpose and the nature of the trade caravans that used the route.
Pasternak said the tombs could have served as a long-term burial site for caravans passing through the area, or they may mark the mass burial of a caravan that came under attack. Despite their location at a remote junction in the desert, the site’s strategic position along key trade routes makes it a plausible resting place for travellers engaged in long and perilous journeys across difficult terrain. These traders were likely involved in the transport of valuable goods such as frankincense and myrrh, prized commodities from southern Arabia. The findings also suggest a more complex social dynamic among the caravans.
Tali Erickson-Gini, a senior researcher, pointed to the presence of artefacts that may indicate the involvement of women in these trade networks. Texts from the period describe the purchase of women as part of the caravan trade, and an inscription found in Yemen records the purchase of 30 women from Gaza. Additionally, an amulet depicting the Egyptian god Bes was found among the burial items. Bes was often associated with the protection of women and children, suggesting that many of the deceased may have been women. This raises the possibility that the caravans could have been involved in human trafficking, a practice documented in ancient texts.
“The discovery emphasises the central role of the Negev in antiquity as an international crossroad and as a gateway for trade and a meeting place of cultures,” said Antiquities Authority director Eli Escusido. “The discovery is unique and it enables us to touch small but important historical moments of the people who traversed the desert through this place centuries ago.”
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