'This is probably the last culture of a very long continuum'

‘A time capsule’: Israeli cave sealed for millennia sheds light on obscure prehistoric clan

A site near Fureidis, south of Haifa, was occupied by early humans around 300,000 years ago, right before Home Sapiens and Neanderthals emerged in the region

A cave in northern Israel that was sealed for hundreds of thousands of years has revealed a treasure trove of remains from a mysterious prehistoric era just before the emergence of Neanderthals and modern humans, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Thursday.

The site is located near the town of Fureidis, south of Haifa. Its occupation dates to between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, when groups of hominids gathered in larger, more active communities than in earlier times. Experts refer to this period in the Levant as the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture.

“This is probably the last culture of a very long continuum [of cultures],” Dr. Kobi Vardi, head of the IAA Prehistory Branch and co-director of excavations, told The Times of Israel over the telephone. “Between 250,000 years and 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens and Neanderthals created a totally different culture, so we are right in the moment of transition.”

According to Vardi, the site was first identified by researchers mapping prehistoric sites across the Carmel region several decades ago and attributed to the Middle Paleolithic (roughly 250,000 to 50,000 years ago).

However, archaeologists from the IAA and the University of Haifa found evidence that it was occupied earlier than that, thanks to a wealth of stone tools and rarely well-preserved animal bones.

“The original roof of the cave disintegrated and crashed down, and the site was covered by very large boulders, in addition to soil and dense vegetation,” Vardi said.

The collapse protected the cave and its contents until today, prompting researchers to describe the site as a form of “time capsule” preserving prehistoric remains.

The team started excavating the site about six months ago, ahead of construction works to build a new road to enter Fureidis. In Israel, all construction works must be accompanied by a salvage excavation to identify possible archaeological remains, funded by the construction company (in this case, the Ayalon Highways Company).

They identified tools, including small sharp handaxes, scrapers and blades, from the last phase of Lower Paleolithic (400,000-250,000 years ago).

“This is very important because sites from this phase are extremely rare; there are about 10 sites in the Near East, two in Syria, one in Lebanon and six in Israel,” Vardi said. “However, this is the only site in the Carmel Ridge where this phase was discovered, where we have this culture in pristine condition, meaning not covered by later layers, except for a small part of the cave.”

The researchers identified the period based on the types of stone tools.

“The most common tool we found is a specific side scraper typical of the period that was used for many purposes, including preparing meat and clearing leather,” he said. “We found about a hundred of them.”

The archaeologists also identified small and very sharp handaxes. Handaxes were used for about a million years across the Paleolithic period, but those retrieved in the Fureidis cave are especially sophisticated, according to Vardi.

“[Side scrapers and handaxes] together are very typical of the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture,” he said. “Hominids from this period lived together in larger groups compared to the past, even though we cannot exactly say how large the groups were. We see signs of communal life and their ability to extract flint from the outcrop, which is very important. We also know they were very skilled hunters, pursuing both small game and larger animals.”

The archaeologists found bones of fallow deer, gazelle, ancient horses and wild cattle, presenting signs of human hunting and processing.

“It’s very rare to find 300,000-year-old bones in such good condition,” Vardi noted.

While the archaeologist said it is possible the animals were cooked, at this stage, the experts have not identified signs of burning on the bones or evidence of fireplaces in the cave. At the same time, they found sediments suggesting that a spring likely ran right next to the site, making it a desirable location.

No human bones have been discovered yet, but based on findings at similar sites, Vardi hopes this might happen in the future.

Human bones from the period could also help scientists understand more about what type of ancient humans lived in the region during the transition period, which is still an open question.

“The gradual changes that emerged during this period in human physiology, technology, and society foreshadowed the traits and complex behavioral patterns that developed later and characterize both Neanderthals and modern humans,” Prof. Ron Shimelmitz of the University of Haifa said, according to the IAA statement.

In light of the cave’s importance, a solution has been found for the new road to bypass the site with a bridge, leaving it accessible for researchers.

Vardi said they intend to go back and excavate it more extensively in the future.

“This is just the beginning,” he said.