Archeological Puzzle of the City of David and the Shark Teeth Enigma
In a groundbreaking discovery, a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Tuetken has uncovered a cache of fossilised shark teeth in a 2900-year-old site in Jerusalem. The find, which is at least 80 km from where these fossils would be expected to be found, sheds light on the people who lived in the region during the Iron Age.
The shark teeth were found in a basement fill material before conversion to a large Iron-Age house in the City of David, one of the oldest parts of Jerusalem, now found in the largely Palestinian village of Silwan. The teeth were discovered alongside fish bones, pottery, and hundreds of bullae, items used to seal confidential letters and packages, implying a possible connection with the administrative or governing class.
Initially, it was assumed that the shark teeth were contemporary with the rest of the find. However, further analysis revealed they were fossils, approximately 80 million years old. The identified teeth come from several species, including the extinct Late Cretaceous group Squalicorax, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period, the same period as the late dinosaurs.
The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, used multiple tools, including strontium and oxygen isotopes, x-ray diffraction, and trace element analysis. The strontium isotope composition of the teeth indicates they originated from at least 80 km away, possibly from the Negev.
Dr. Brooke Crowley, a researcher from the University of Cincinnati, commented on the research. She suggested that the Squalicorax and other shark fossils found in Jerusalem likely belonged to a collection assembled after King Solomon's death, despite no clear evidence confirming this. However, Dr. Crowley edited the paper for the journal, and Dr. Tuetken, the lead researcher, stated that there is no concrete evidence to support the theory that the teeth may have been collected by Iron Age individuals.
The discovery adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that the people of the Iron Age had a more extensive and intricate understanding of the world around them than previously thought. The 2021 Goldschmidt Conference, the World's main geochemistry conference, hosted virtually from 4-9 July, will provide a platform for further discussion and analysis of the findings. The 2022 conference takes place in Hawaii.
This press release contains additional material not mentioned in the publication. The research has sparked a renewed interest in the archaeology of Jerusalem and the surrounding region, promising exciting new discoveries in the future.
