A prehistoric cave is in the process of being excavated on the outskirts of Fureidis, a town south of Haifa and near the Zichron Ya’acov interchange, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on a Thursday morning.

The ongoing excavations are funded by Ayalon Highways Company and directed by the IAA’s Prehistory Branch head Dr. Kobi Vardi and Amit Gabbay in cooperation with Prof. Ron Shimelmitz of the University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures and the Zinman Institute of Archaeology.

The cave dates back to 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, to the time of the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture – a collection of archaeological cultures in the Levant from the end of the Lower Paleolithic era.

“It is very rare to find a site in such a state of preservation,” said Vardi. “Every prehistorian who visits the site is absolutely thrilled.”

“The site, which is no less important than the well-known Nahal Me’arot site, and dates to the same period, will allow us to study in high resolution how humans lived at that time.”

Animal bones belonging to fallow deer, gazelle, and ancient horses have already been found within the cave, explained Vardi, alongside evidence of the presence of water, which may have made the site “attractive for ancient hunter-gatherer groups.”

Researchers explained that Acheulo-Yabrudian culture is characterized by their variety of advanced flint tool production methods, including small sharp handaxes, scrapers, and blades.

Following the discovery of the site’s importance, the IAA and Haifa University plan to advance a large-scale research program aiming to reconstruct how ancient humans lived, adapted to their environments, and developed new technologies over the course of human evolution.

“We have been fortunate to excavate a unique site of global importance that has been protected from the ravages of time thanks to the exceptional conditions that existed here,” said Haifa University’s Professor Ron Shimelmitz. “This time capsule belongs to a unique period at the end of the Lower Paleolithic era, just before Neanderthals and modern humans became dominant and spread across many regions.”

“Only a handful of sites from this important phase have been uncovered in Israel and the wider Levant, and most of them are inaccessible for research.”

Shimelmitz explained that the gradual changes that emerged during the Acheulo-Yabrudian period “in human physiology, technology, and society foreshadowed the traits and complex behavioral patterns that developed later and characterize both Neanderthals and modern humans.”

“To a degree, they can be seen as the seeds that led to the development of our complex culture. One of the central processes taking place during this period is the transition to living in larger groups and spending longer periods at the same sites,” Shimelmitz said. “Caves from this period have yielded evidence of intensive use of fire and prolonged human activity, suggesting complex and rich camp life.”

“These are findings that many researchers associate with the development of social cooperation and the transmission of knowledge, as part of the processes of human evolution.”

“We very much appreciate the enthusiasm shown by Ayalon Highways Company in enabling us to undertake the excavation,” the researchers concluded. “The hope is that after the research is completed, this site will be open and accessible to all: to the residents of Fureidis, students at the nearby school, and anyone interested in the prehistory of the region.”

In mid-March, a collection of Paleolithic stone handaxes found in the Sakhnin Valley of the Lower Galilee has shed new light on the cultural and cognitive world of early humans. 

The finds were presented in a study completed by researchers from Tel Aviv University and published in the journal Entin Faculty of Humanities: Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University.

After noticing several knapped stones scattered around the valley, Sakhnin resident Muataz Shalata brought the finds to the attention of Tel Aviv University Professor Ran Barkai, an archaeologist and expert on the topic of early Paleolithic culture.

Barkai, alongside Shalata, embarked on an archaeological expedition in the valley and discovered a series of Paleolithic sites containing hundreds of large, carefully crafted stone handaxes.The axes were dated to the Pleistocene, likely made by Homo erectus, the first human species to evolve to have a humanlike body shape and gait, who had lived in the region hundreds of thousands of years ago.

“Handaxes served as the main tool of early humans for more than a million years,” Barkai said. “In the Sakhnin Valley, many hundreds of handaxes were found, indicating that the area served as an important hub of human activity over long periods of time.”