JERUSALEM, ISRAEL—A team from the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) has excavated the remains of a 7,000-year-old settlement in a Jerusalem neighborhood. It is the first significant site dating to the Copper Age ever unearthed in the city. Led by IAA archaeologist Ronit Lupo, the team discovered two well-preserved dwellings that retained their floors. “Thousands of years later, the buildings uncovered are of a standard that would not fall short of Jerusalem’s architecture,” Lupo said in an Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release. “This discovery represents a highly significant addition to our research of the city and the vicinity.” In addition to the houses, the team unearthed small sickle blades that would have been used for harvesting cereals, and a number of other artifacts, including a carnelian bead. To read in-depth about a dig at another site in Israel, go to “Excavating Tell Kadesh.”
