JERUSALEM: An excavation site in southern Israel has yielded a fossilised tusk from a massive prehistoric elephant that once roamed the Mediterranean, giving archaeologists a unique glimpse into the lifestyle of the region’s first settlers.
The ancient straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, whose 2.5-meter-long tusk is thought to be roughly 500,000 years old, was discovered in a location where stone and flint tools and other animal remains have also been discovered.
According to prehistorian Avi Levy, the excavation’s director, this is the largest intact fossil tusk ever discovered at a prehistoric site in Israel or the Near East.The now-extinct animal, which was much larger than African elephants, was killed by humans for food and perhaps for symbolic reasons. It was a part of the diverse local wildlife, which also included wild horses, cattle, deer, wild boars, and hippopotamuses.
We expect that the discovery of the new tusk in a clear archaeological setting will shed light on this topic, according to Dr. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority.The tusk will be on display at a permanent exhibition space in the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem once the conservation process is finished.