A collection of 50 cave pearls, some containing Greek artifacts from the Hellenistic era, was discovered in an ancient tunnel located in the Jerusalem Hills of Israel. This finding marks the largest collection of cave pearls ever identified in the Southern Levant region.
Cave pearls are geological formations, typically small and round, formed by mineral deposits in shallow pools of water. While they have been found on most continents, their presence in this area is rare. The research team, led by Azriel Yechezkel from the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, was investigating the Joweizeh spring tunnel, built between 900 B.C.E. and 586 B.C.E., which is believed to have been part of a royal mansion.
During their search for a sealed section of the tunnel, the archaeologists uncovered a new area measuring approximately 23 feet long, obstructed by soil and debris. Among the findings were cave pearls that had formed around archaeological artifacts, a first for this phenomenon. Analyses revealed that 14 out of the 50 cave pearls contained pottery shards, with two originating from ceramic lamps and others from ancient plaster pieces.
The samples of charcoal extracted from the plaster dated back to the Hellenistic period (333-63 B.C.). Most pottery nuclei also corresponded to this period or the later Roman and Byzantine periods. Notably, one shard appeared to date back to the Persian or Babylonian periods, possibly the Iron Age.
The tunnel exhibits evidence of repeated use and renovations through the centuries, with a significant reconstruction during the Hellenistic period likely conducted by lamplight. Yechezkel stated, 'Our research supports our understanding that the tunnel was first constructed in the Iron Age [around the 8th-7th centuries B.C.]. Furthermore, it provides the first analytic dating of artifacts found in the pearls, proving the tunnel underwent a reconstruction phase during the Hellenistic period.'