Cracking find: Ancient ostrich eggs unearthed in Israel desert dig
Jerusalem, Jan 12 (EFE).- Israeli archaeologists have unearthed the remains of eight ostrich eggs dating back to over 4,000 years ago during a dig in the Negev desert.
The Israel Antiquities Agency said the eggs were found near a fire pit at an ancient campsite being excavated in the agricultural fields of Moshav Be’er Milka, southern Israel.
Although exact dates have yet to be determined, investigators believe the smashed fragments of shells collected at the site could be between 4,000-7,500 years old and shed a light on the lifestyle of prehistoric nomads.
“What we have here is a collection of ostrich eggs found where they were placed right next to a fire pit 4,000 years ago,” said Lauren Davis, the excavation director.
“The importance of this find is that we have a connection between the people and the ostrich.”
The location of the eggs demonstrated how they were used as food or a raw material, she added.
“This is something that can tell us how the nomads — who didn’t write, who didn’t build, didn’t leave anything behind — lived, what they ate, how they slept, what their campsites looked like,” she added.
The Arabian ostrich, a subspecies of its African cousins, once roamed the region until going extinct in the wild in the 19th century.EFE
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