TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—i24 News reports that a large copper fishhook estimated to be 6,000 years old was discovered in southern Israel at the site of the ancient seaport of Ashkelon. The hook measures about two and one-half inches long and one and one-half inches wide, according to Yael Abadi-Reiss and Daniel Varga of the Israel Antiquities Authority. They think such a large hook may have been used to catch sharks or tuna. “The rare fishhook tells the story of the village fishermen who sailed out to sea in their boats and cast the newly invented copper fishhook into the water, hoping to add coastal sharks to the menu,” Abadi-Reiss said. Most of the fishhooks that have been found from this period were made of bone. To read about a Neolithic-period bone fishhook found in Norway, go to "Artifact."
