(Jerusalem Post) A routine salvage excavation in the northern Jezreel Valley unearthed a rare and well-preserved coffin, as well as numerous bronze and clay artifacts, dating to the 13th century BCE, the Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.
The relics, from the Late Bronze Age, were discovered last month – prior to the installation of a gas pipe line – at Tel Shadud, an archeological mound near Kibbutz Sarid.
“During the excavation we discovered a unique and rare find: a cylindrical clay coffin with an anthropoidal lid [fashioned in the image of a person],” said Dr. Ron Be’eri, one of the excavation’s three directors.
Inside the coffin – the likes of which have not been discovered in more than 50 years – was the skeleton of an adult believed to be of Canaanite origin, who likely served the Egyptian government, Be’eri said.
