Rare clay jug found in israel highlights camels’ role in Abbasid trade

Archaeologists unearthed a 1,200-year-old clay jug adorned with camel motifs while excavating a cave in Yatir Forest in the southern Hebron Hills region, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday.

“The fact that the creators chose to paint two camels on the reverse indicates their great importance during the Abbasid period – in the 9th-10th centuries CE. Camels were a major means of land transportation for transporting goods, and were therefore essential to the economy at the time,” said Oren Shmueli, Dr. Davida Dagan and Dr. Anat Cohen-Weinberger from the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Dr. Katya Citrin from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The jug was found in a cave that had been repurposed as a dwelling, originally serving as an underground oil press for olive oil production. This excavation was part of a broader initiative by the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) to make the site more accessible to the public.

The clay jug is notable for its red-painted geometric patterns and depictions of a caravan of animals, including a camel and possibly an ostrich or donkey. Researchers believe these illustrations underscore the pivotal role camels played during the Abbasid era. “The fact that the creators chose to paint two camels on the vessel indicates their great importance during the Abbasid period,” explained Oren Shmueli of the Antiquities Authority. “Camels were a major means of land transportation for transporting goods and were therefore essential to the economy at the time.”

The Horbat Anim site has previously yielded significant archaeological finds. An ancient synagogue from the Byzantine period was discovered there 40 years ago, featuring impressive mosaic floors.

“About 1,500 years ago, the Yatir region was part of a region called ‘Droma,’ where Jewish communities lived alongside Christian communities,” Shmueli said. “There is no doubt that the synagogue discovered in Anim served as the religious center of the Jewish population that lived there.”

The oil press, built in a cave in the earth’s crust and dating back about 1,300 years, the early Muslim period, was fully excavated last year. A pair of huge stones were discovered that served as part of the concrete for the huge pressing stones. Between them, in ancient times, a wooden screw was installed, which squeezed the olives and extracted oil from them. The oil that flowed out drained into a stone basin in the centre of the facility.

“The uniqueness of the oil press in the Yatir Forest is that it was built in an orderly and advanced manner for its time. In fact, it is an ancient factory, where a sophisticated and expensive machine for its time stood,” said Shmueli.

The depiction of camels on the jug aligns with historical evidence of their domestication and use in the region. Studies by Tel Aviv University archaeologists have pinpointed the arrival of domesticated camels in Israel to the 9th century BCE.

“The introduction of the camel to our region was a very important economic and social development,” Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University said.