cave pearls containing archaeological artifacts in ancient Jerusalem

A study conducted by Dr. Azriel Yechezkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his colleagues from the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, published in the journal Archaeometry, discovered the largest known cave pearl deposit in the southern Levant. What makes these 50 cave pearls so unique is that some of them contain archaeological artifacts, making them the first in the world to contain man-made objects.

Cave pearls are a type of speleothem found in caves. They are round, pearl-like formations usually between 0.1 mm and 30cm long. They form around central nuclei, such as sand grains covered in layer upon layer of mineral deposits.

In a previously sealed-off and undiscovered section of the tunnel, the researchers discovered 50 cave pearls. Further analysis revealed that 14 of these pearls contained pottery, while another two contained ancient plaster.

It was found that most of the pottery dated to the Hellenistic periods (333–63 BCE), Roman (63 BCE–324 CE), or Byzantine (330–636 CE) periods with only two exceptions. One pottery sherd may have come from the Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 17th century BCE), while the other dates to around the Early Hellenistic, Iron Age, Persian, or Babylonian periods.

During the Hellenistic period, however, it may have undergone significant renovations, as evidenced by the plaster pieces and many pottery fragments found in the cave pearls that date to this era. It was also around this time that the first cave pearls likely began to form. The ST continued to be used throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods before it was abandoned.

SOURCE: https://phys.org/news/2024-12-cave-pearls-archaeological-artifacts-ancient.html