Scientists discovered a cache of fossilised shark tooth bones in an unexplored area in Jerusalem's City of David. This is a 2900-year-old site. It is located at least 80 kilometers from the place where fossils of this nature would be expected. Although there isn't any conclusive evidence that the cache was assembled or why, it could be that the 80-million-year-old teeth may have been part of a collection dating back to just after King Solomon's death. Similar unexplained discoveries have been made in other parts ancient Judea by the same team.Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Tuetken, University of Mainz Institute of Geosciences, presented the results at the Goldschmidt Conference.These fossils have been moved from their original location. They are likely valuable and we don't know why.The material used to fill a basement was used to cover the teeth. The house was located in Jerusalem's City of David. It is now in Silwan, a largely Palestinian village. They were found with other fill material, such as pottery and fish bones that had been discarded as food waste 2900 years back. Surprisingly, the teeth were found with bullae (items used to seal confidential mail and packages) which suggests a connection to the administrative or governing classes. It is normal for archaeological material to be dated according the circumstances in which it is found. So it was initially assumed that the teeth were contemporaneous with the rest. Dr. Tuetken stated:We initially assumed that the shark teeth were remnants of food that was dumped almost 3000 years ago. However, when we submitted our paper for publication, one reviewer pointed out that one of the teeth could have only come from a Late Cretaceous shark, which had been extinct for at most 66 million years. We went back to the samples and measured organic matter, elemental composition, crystallinity, and other characteristics. This confirmed that all shark teeth are fossils. The strontium isotope content of the teeth indicates that they are approximately 80 million years old. It was confirmed that all 29 shark tooth found in the City of David are Late Cretaceous fossils, which is contemporaneous with dinosaurs. They were likely transported from faraway, perhaps from the Negev (at least 80km away), where similar fossils were found.The team has also found shark teeth fossils at the Maresha, Miqne sites since the initial finds. They are also possible to have been moved from their original locations.Dr. Tuetken stated:"Our working hypothesis suggests that the teeth were collected by collectors. However, we don't know for certain. They don't have any wear marks that might indicate they were tools. There are also no drill holes that could suggest they may be jewellery. There is an international market for shark's tooth jewellery, and we know there are many. This was a time of wealth in the Judean Court. It's easy to add 2 and 2 together to create 5. "We won't be able to know for sure."The shark teeth that have been identified are from several species, including the extinct Late Cretaceous group Squalicorax. Squalicorax, which was between 2 and 5 m long, lived during the Late Cretaceous period, which was the same time as the dinosaurs. This serves as a reference point for dating fossils.Brooke Crowley (University of Cincinnati), commented:Dr. Tuetken's research with colleagues is a great example of why it is important to have as few assumptions as possible when approaching a research question. Sometimes, we may need to revisit our initial assumptions. This research also shows how useful it is to use multiple tools to answer a question. The authors used strontium and other oxygen isotopes as well as trace element analysis and x-ray difffraction to determine the most likely origin and age of the fossil teeth. Although it was quite a lot of work, these efforts revealed an even more fascinating story about the people who once lived in this area. This work has been very exciting for me. I hope we can one day solve the mystery of how these fossil teeth were found in cultural deposits.###This work was not performed by Dr. Crowley. The research relating to the Jerusalem findings has been published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8/570032 (https:/// / doi. http:// 10. 3389/ fevo. 2020. 570032 ), Dr. Crowley edited the paper for this journal. Additional material is included in this press release that was not published.NotesThe work will be presented on the 6th of July but it is being released to media early.*The find is from the time of King Solomon's immediate descendants: Rehoboam; Abija, Assa and Jehoshapat.
