The Israeli Antiquities Authority has announced the accidental discovery of a rare, 2500-year-old coin at one of the Ashdod beaches during a routine search for missing objects lost by beachgoers, such as car keys.

Authorities said that the ancient coin, which was made in Cyprus, is the first of its kind ever found in Israel, offering researchers a reliable historical source of information on maritime economic and trade activities in the region during this period.

2,500-Year-Old Coin Covered in Silver, Hinting at Origin

According to a statement emailed to The Debrief, one of the informal everyday duties of the deputy director of the Ashdod Beaches Department is helping locals and out-of-town visitors locate lost items. While these searches typically involve beachfront hunts for jewelry, car keys, and other modern-day items, a recent search led by the current office holder, Avi Chaprak, led to a historic discovery.

According to Chaprak, when he spotted the coin, he noticed it was completely different from other items he was typically tasked with tracking down. Since antiquities laws require such historic items to be handed over, the deputy director immediately passed the unusual-looking coin to the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

After the IAA’s coin department analyzed the coin, they informed Chaprak just how unusual the coin was. First, they explained, the coin was minted in the ancient Cypriot city of Salamis in the mid-5^th century BCE. This date is significant since the coin was made during a time when the Persian Empire ruled the island.

Second, the 11-gram standard coin, known at the time as a “Siglos,” was the first of its kind ever discovered on Israeli soil. The researchers said the first clue hinting at the coin’s origin was its material composition.

“At first glance, it looked to be made of silver,” explained Yanniv David Levy, Researcher and Curator in the Israel Antiquities Authority Coin Department, “but a closer examination showed it to actually be of metal that was only plated with silver; a known phenomenon in Cypriot silver coins from this period, given the shortage of silver on the island.”

A closer examination revealed that one side of the coin depicted a left-facing “recumbent” ram. The other side depicts a left-facing ram head placed within a sunken square frame. Next to the framed ram head is a vertical laurel branch with three symbols below it. The IAA statement said these symbols were “apparently of the Cypriot syllabic script.”

Ancient Finds with Exact Provenance Are Rare

When discussing the historical significance and scientific value of Deputy Director Chaprak’s fortuitous discovery, Levy highlighted two points. First, the researcher said that Persian Empire period coins of this size and value “are rare altogether in the archaeological record.”

“Usually, silver coins of this size were not preserved intact,” Levy explained. “Over time, they were cut into small pieces, for use as local trade currency.”

The research also notes that evidence for this use of ancient silver Cypriot coins is “mainly from inland states in Israel.” As a result, Levy said that discovering a complete Cypriot coin from the coastal area is “unusual on all accounts, and of special historical importance.”

Dr. Evangeline Markou, a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, and a respected authority on ancient Cypriot coinage, agreed. For example, the researcher said, although 2500-year-old Salamis coins were circulating throughout the eastern Mediterranean, “finds with an exact provenance are rarer.”

“Therefore, this coin potentially offers significant information about trade ties and movement between Cyprus and the Land of Israel during this period,” Dr. Markou explained.

“A Reliable Source of Information About Economic and Maritime Ties”

Along with recognition from the media and his colleagues, the IAA’s Coin Department awarded Chaprak with a certificate of appreciation for reporting the coin and delivering it to them. When asked about his role in the historic coin’s discovery, Chaprak said he felt privileged to do his part, while also noting how his own beliefs made the next steps after the discovery obvious.

“For me, it was clear that the coin belonged to our collective heritage, he said. “If through this act I contributed another small piece towards the research and history of the Land of Israel, then that is a great honor for me.”

Levy also highlighted the significance of Chaprak’s discovery and timely delivery of the 2500-year-old coin, noting how it helped preserve the object’s scientific and historical value.

“The circumstances of the discovery and the accurate reporting allow us researchers, not only to identify the coin itself, but also to use it as a reliable source of information about economic and maritime ties that existed in this region some 2500 years ago,” the IAA researcher concluded.

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org

Archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University, conducting excavations in the City of David, have unearthed massive wooden beams burned during the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.

The research team behind the discovery notes that the huge wooden support beams, which were surprisingly well preserved for ancient wood structures, allow for much more precise dating of the site. The researchers also highlight the apparently deliberate efforts by the city’s rebuilders to leave the ruins in place for future generations to witness.

2,600-Year-Old Wooden Beams Preserved by Melting Plaster

According to a statement emailed to The Debrief, the ancient, charred wooden beams discovered within the Jerusalem Walls National Park were relics from a collapsed building destroyed by “the intense fire of the First Temple’s destruction” over 2,600 years ago.

“The beams appear to have served as the roof of an inner courtyard in a building from the First Temple period,” explained Excavation Director Efrat Bocher.

Although not unprecedented, the team said that finding intact wood relics of this advanced age is rare, since organic materials like wood typically break down over such extended time periods. In this case, they suggest that the surprisingly intact beams were likely preserved by melting plaster, “sealing the burnt wood beneath.”

“During the destruction, they collapsed onto the floor,” Director Bocher explained. “We believe that the plaster cladding of the building’s walls, melted by the fire, covered the charred wooden beams, and ultimately enabled their exceptional preservation.”

Growth Rings Help Archaeologists Narrow the Site’s Dating Range

When discussing the historic and scientific value of the discovery, Dr. Johanna Regev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who studied the wooden beams up close, noted the exceptional rarity of finding ancient wood with “such a large number” of visible growth rings.

“Here, in the City of David, we found thick beams with many rings, offering significant research potential,” Dr. Regev said.

For example, the researcher explains, more growth rings help scientists date sites and materials with increased precision and “higher dating resolution.”

“Until now, we could date finds within a range of hundreds of years,” Dr. Regev explained. “Now we can attain much greater precision, narrowing the dating range down to as little as ten years.”

City’s Rebuilders Left Ruins in Place as a “Testament to the Destruction”

While the historic site was witness to a tragic destruction, the research team said returning residents beginning to rebuild the city appear to have intentionally left the remains untouched for future generations to see.

“[They] probably made a deliberate decision to preserve the memory of the destruction by leaving behind remains that tell the story of the catastrophe,” the team explained.

Dr. Yiftah Shalev, who directs the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority alongside Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University, said the idea of a landscape of memory is “familiar from many cultures around the world.”

“Preserving memory is a human need, seeking to preserve what once existed,” Dr. Shalev explained. “Here we see it in its clearest form: a deliberate choice to leave ruins in place as a testament to the destruction and build the new layer over them.”

On a more personal note, Director Bocher noted the serendipitous timing of the discovery “just before Tisha B’Av.” According to Hillel.org, the holiday, which is recognized as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, “is a day of mourning for tragedies across Jewish history, most particularly the destruction and loss of the first and second Temple and Jerusalem.”

“This discovery makes you feel that you are witnessing the very moment of destruction, the moment when it all happened,” the researcher concluded, adding that “it’s deeply moving.”

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org

Archaeologists working with the Israeli Antiquities Authority have announced the discovery and excavation of a cave located just outside the town of Fureidis, which has revealed signs of early human presence dating back to between 250,000 and 400,000 years ago.

The team of researchers behind the ongoing excavation said the fortuitous discovery could represent a “time capsule” that has remained sealed for hundreds of thousands of years, offering researchers an unprecedented glimpse into a critical period in human evolution.

Ancient Cave Contains Evidence of Critical Period in Human Evolution

According to a statement emailed to The Debrief, the ancient cave, which lies south of Haifa, near the Zikhron Ya’akov interchange, likely dates back to sometime between 400,000 and 250,000 years before present. The team notes that the range would mean it was sealed since the time of the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture, a period when ancient human ancestors began to display several complex tool-making skills, including various stone blade designs which were in use by hominins until around 300,000 years ago, marking the end of the Lower Paleolithic period.

“The culture we are investigating here was characterized by a variety of advanced methods for producing flint tools, including small sharp handaxes, scrapers, and blades,” explained Dr. Kobi Vardi, head of the Prehistory Branch at the Israel Antiquities Authority and the study’s co-director.

Most archaeologists put the African departure date of the last common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals between 700,000 and 500,000 years ago, and the first genetic interbreeding between the two species around 130,000-1,000,000 years ago. Therefore, finding a sealed cave containing relics from the period between these two critical evolutionary junctures offers the research team an unprecedented opportunity.

“We have been fortunate to excavate a unique site of global importance that has been protected from the ravages of time thanks to the exceptional conditions that existed here,” said team member Professor Ron Shimelmitz of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa.

Dr. Vardi agreed, noting that “It is very rare to find a site in such a state of preservation.”

“Every prehistorian who visits the site is absolutely thrilled,” he added.

“The Seeds That Led to the Development of Our Complex Culture”

In that same statement, Prof. Shimelmitz noted that the end of the Lower Paleolithic was a “unique time period” before Neanderthals and modern humans became the dominant hominids of the era and spread across “many regions.”

“Only a handful of sites from this important phase have been uncovered in Israel, and the wider Levant, and most of them are inaccessible for research,” the professor explained, adding that marked changes in human physiology, technology, and social organization “foreshadowed the traits and complex behavioral patterns that developed later and characterize both Neanderthals and modern humans.”

One component that helped facilitate the development of complex culture, highlighted by Prof. Shimelmitz, is the transition from ancient humans living in larger groups. He also emphasized the advent of human ancestors “spending longer periods at the same sites.”

Early excavations have already uncovered evidence of what the researcher termed “intensive use of fire.” These early forays have also found signs of prolonged human activity. Prof Shimelmitz said these signs suggest a “complex and rich camp life.”

Dr Vardi said that the ongoing excavation is uncovering animal bones, including ancient specimens of fallow deer, gazelle, and an ancient variety of horse.

Dr. Vardi also noted that these finds were discovered “alongside evidence of the presence of water,” which he suggests may have made the ancient cave an attractive location for hunter-gatherer groups inhabiting the region at the time.

High Resolution Studies of How Ancient Humans Lived

When discussing the implications of their findings, Prof. Shimelmitz first expressed the team’s appreciation for the financial support and enthusiasm shown by the project’s sponsor, the Ayalon Highways Company, “in enabling us to undertake the excavation.”

As for the scientific value of their initial discoveries and the potential for further insights into this period in human history, the professor noted that findings to date are typically associated with “the development of social cooperation and the transmission of knowledge, as part of the processes of human evolution.”

Dr. Vardi echoed those sentiments, while also noting that the ancient cave’s archaeological value “is no less important” than that of the well-known Nahal Me’arot site from the same evolutionarily critical period.

“(This site) will allow us to study in high resolution how humans lived at that time,” the researcher added.

Given the importance the research team put on the site, which included co-leader Amit Gabbay, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa are already putting forth what they describe as a “large-scale research program that seeks to reconstruct how humans lived, adapted to their environment, and developed new lifestyles and technologies over the course of human evolution.”

Along with heralding the site’s scientific value, the researchers highlighted its cultural importance by declaring their goal to make the site “open and accessible to all: to the residents of Fureidis, students at the nearby school, and anyone interested in the prehistory of the region,” once the formal excavations are completed.

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.