June 3, 2006 - BiblePlaces.com

Eight New Species Found in Israel Cave

This amazing find near Ramle was announced by Hebrew University researchers this week.

Israeli scientists said on Wednesday they had discovered a prehistoric ecosystem dating back millions of years containing eight previously unknown species of crustaceans and invertebrates similar to scorpions.

In a press conference held Wednesday morning at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the researchers said the discovery came about when a small opening was found, leading to a cave extending to a depth of 100 meters beneath the surface of a quarry in the vicinity of Ramle. The quarry is operated by cement manufacturer Nesher Industries.

“Until now eight species of animals were found in the cave, all of them unknown to science,” said Dr. Hanan Dimantman, a biologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Haaretz has the full story and a photo.

Tagged Discoveries

New Archaeological Reports

The latest edition of Hadashot Arkheologiyot is now online. Until the last few years, you had to have access to a good library to be able to see the technical reports of the latest small-scale excavations in Israel. The online edition is well done, with options to print the articles with or without the pictures.

The pictures are also available in a higher-resolution. Overall, this is very impressive and useful.

Articles from the current edition that may be of interest to readers here include Ashdod, Banias, Beth Shean, Caesarea, Dan, En Gedi, Jaffa, and various sites in Jerusalem. You might also check out the issues from 2004 and 2005.