Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Nugget Shooter on February 19, 2017, 09:40:21 am
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JERUSALEM - Archaeologists digging in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of ancient honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest intact beehives ever found.
The findings in the ruins of the city of Rehov this summer include 30 intact hives dating to around 900 B.C., archaeologist Amihai Mazar of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University told The Associated Press. He said it offers unique evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.
Beekeeping was widely practiced in the ancient world, where honey used for medicinal and religious purposes as well as for food, and beeswax was used to make molds for metal and to create surfaces to write on. While bees and beekeeping are depicted in ancient artwork, nothing similar to the Rehov hives has ever been found before, Mazar said.
(https://s10.postimg.cc/o8vwl9kg5/israel3000old.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/o8vwl9kg5/)
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neat photo!
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The Land of Milk and Honey :) Way cool!
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Very interesting that Israel is reportedly importing honey bees from Turkey...The bees from 3,000 years ago at that site were imported from Turkey as well.
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Very interesting that Israel is reportedly importing honey bees from Turkey...The bees from 3,000 years ago at that site were imported from Turkey as well.
Seriously? WOW, that is some major job security for the Turkish beekeepers!
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I wonder what catastrophy caused the hives to survive.
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I wonder what catastrophy caused the hives to survive.
That region of Israel, the Beth Shean Valley, is located along the Syrian-African tectonic rift and is known for its seismic activity. The nearby Roman city of Beth Shean was buried iby an earthquake. Parts of it have been excavated and can be visited today. I suppose that archeological excavations are what discovered these ancient "clay-jar" hives.
Hives of a similar construction were in use in this area until the Langstroth hives replaced them.