A forgotten discovery for almost a century might shed new light on the ancient history of the Near East. A team of researchers from the University of Haifa analyzed a silver treasure found during excavations by the University of Chicago at Megiddo, in present-day Israel, in the early 1930s. Their study’s results suggest that this ancient collection of silver objects might be linked to the famous military campaign of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in the region.

The treasure in question, known as Set 5034, consisted of 44 pieces of silver of various types and weights, ranging from ingots and cut pieces to small sheets and wires. It was found in a room with a dirt or plaster floor, at a central point in the Middle Bronze Age city.

The excavators originally associated it with Phase XIIIA, dated to Middle Bronze Age I, which would make it the oldest silver find as legal tender discovered so far in the southern Levant region.

The Near East and the western Mediterranean basin with the locations mentioned in the article
The Near East and the western Mediterranean basin with the locations mentioned in the article. Credit: Yoav Bornstein

However, researchers from the University of Haifa question this stratigraphic association. They argue that, like many other ancient treasures, this set might have been hidden beneath the floor, which would explain why it appeared in that context. This opens the possibility that the treasure could date from a later phase, probably from the Late Bronze Age.

Chemical and lead isotope analysis of a selection of the pieces points in this direction. The results show that the silver from Set 5034 is similar to other Late Bronze Age finds from the southern Levant, such as a treasure found at Tel Abel Beth Maacah. This contrasts with the Middle Bronze Age silver from Shiloh and Gezer, which has a different composition.

But the most interesting aspect is that the isotopic signature of several pieces from Megiddo resembles that of certain silver objects found at other Late Bronze Age sites, such as the Uluburun shipwreck in Turkey or Tell Munbaqa in Syria. This suggests that the silver from Set 5034 might have been melted and mixed with silver from various sources, perhaps in the context of a significant historical event.

Content of the treasure of Megiddo 5034 photographed by Ivgeni Ostrovski
Content of the treasure of Megiddo 5034 photographed by Ivgeni Ostrovski. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority

The researchers propose two possible scenarios for dating this treasure. The first would place it in Phase XI, corresponding to Middle Bronze Age II-III, when a large palace was built at Megiddo. In this case, the treasure would be part of the wealth accumulated by the local elite. However, the authors consider it more likely that the treasure is linked to Phase IX, corresponding to Late Bronze Age I.

This phase is marked by a significant historical event: the conquest of Megiddo by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in the mid-15th century BC. The Egyptian monarch’s chronicles detail the siege and capture of this strategic Canaanite city, which would be under Egyptian control for four centuries. Until now, however, no clear material evidence of this tumultuous period in Megiddo’s history had been found.

The researchers suggest that Set 5034 could be precisely one of those material remains that testify to the events associated with Thutmose III’s military campaign. Perhaps the silver treasure was hidden during that time of instability, never to be recovered later. If so, this discovery would be a valuable contribution to the understanding of a key episode in the ancient history of the Near East.


SOURCES

Tzilla Eshel, Israel Finkelstein, Lead isotopes may link the earliest silver hoard from Megiddo to the military campaign of Thutmose III. Archeometry, 13 August 2024, doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13021


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