Thursday, September 08, 2016

The Proof is in the Manure (or in the Poop)

Livestock Stable Exposed in the Avdat National Park

1500-years old


A joint archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and DePaul University (USA) uncovered a structure that was apparently used as a livestock stable in the Byzantine period.


The stable, which was constructed in one of the rock-hewn caves on the mountainside, was used as a service structure by the local residents who were apparently monks. 


Professor Scott Bucking of DePaul University in the United States and Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority announced, 

“The identification as a stable was corroborated by an almost 1 m thick layer of organic matter (donkey, sheep and goat manure) on the floor of the building. 



It seems that the place was destroyed by an earthquake that decimated the city of ʽAvdat in the early seventh century CE”.  

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