Fragments of ostrich eggs over 4,000 years old have been discovered in southern Israel, the country’s Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday, saying the find should help to better understand the life of the ancient nomads of the country. desert.
By AFP
LThe eggs were exhumed “in pieces” but in an “exceptional” state of preservation in the Negev desert during excavations in the sand dunes of Nitzana, near the border with Egypt, according to a press release from the Authority .
Archaeologists found them near a hearth, among stones, flints, tools and potsherds at a campsite used by nomads ‘since prehistoric times’, suggesting the eggs were meant to be cooked, adds the text.
Wild ostriches disappeared from the region in the 19th century, according to the Antiquities Authority, and the eggs found could provide clues to the lives of ancient nomads, who left little lasting trace of their presence. given their way of life.
The eggs, whose age is estimated in a range of 4,000 to 7,500 years, must be subjected to examinations to refine their dating, and be reconstituted “like a puzzle”, in the hope of discovering the species and “what exactly they were used for”.
