Chicken bones and snail shells help archaeologists to date ancient town's destruction

by Ancient Greece.

More precise dating of archaeological finds is being led by the analysis of animal and plant remains. It is now possible to determine both the year and the season. Prof. Oren Tal of the Tel Aviv University said that this allows them to reconstruct the events that produced the finds much more precisely.

The destruction of the Greek town Tell Iabba in present-day Israel by a military campaign waged by the Hasmoneans, a Judean ruling dynasty in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has been dated to between 112 and 105 BC. Based on coin finds and the siege of the city of Samaria at the same time, it's believed that it happened in the year 105 BC. For the first time, we can date the events with certainty to the spring of 107 BC, thanks to our multi-proxy approach.

Chicken leg bones were found in the homes destroyed by the Hasmoneans. During the laying season in the spring, eggshells are produced due to medullary bone deposits in the marrow. The chickens were killed in the spring. The shells of field snails were found. Plants on the floors of the dwellings flower in the spring.

The analysis of the objects always includes the analysis of written evidence, such as the scroll of Megillat Ta'anit about the Hasmonean conquest.

Only the number of analytical methods can make precise statements.

As military offensives usually took place in spring and early summer, this makes spring the season of destruction.

The research project on the archaeology of the Hellenistic settlement Tell Iabba is being led by Lichtenberger and his colleague Oren Tal and includes natural scientists. By taking an overall view of the results from all analytical methods, we can provide more precise information about the time of Tell Iabba's destruction. In the light of the seasons, it is necessary to interpret the finds.

In antiquity, the research was published.

More information: Oz Rittner et al, For everything there is a season: more than a year of destruction at Seleucid Tell Izṭ abba (Israel), Antiquity (2022). doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.92 Journal information: Antiquity