Israeli archaeologists find intact 4,000-year-old lamp wick

Three well-preserved ancient lamp wicks dating back some 4,000 years were unearthed during the construction of a new residential area in the central Israeli city of Yehud.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has just announced a rare archaeological discovery: three well-preserved ancient lamp wicks dating back about 4,000 years, unearthed during the construction of a new residential area in the city of Yehud, central Israel.

According to the IAA, these are the oldest lamp wicks ever discovered in the world . This discovery is considered particularly rare because normally, lamp wicks - made from plant fibers or fabrics, either burn out during use or decompose in the soil, especially in areas with humid Mediterranean climates.

Even when such pieces of material are discovered, they are difficult to clearly identify as lamp wicks, unless found with oil lamps, because their shape is no different from ordinary rags.

Although lamp wicks were common in the ancient world, this is “a unique find that we did not expect to survive in the humid Mediterranean climate,” said IAA researchers Dr. Naama Sukenik and Dr. Yonah Maor.

“These wicks are among the very few surviving artifacts of the period that we know of in the world,” the two researchers stressed.

These three wicks were found in oil lamps placed in tombs in the Newe Efrayim area, dating from 2,500 to 2,000 BC.

Researchers say that during that period, placing oil lamps in graves was a common custom./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/cac-nha-khao-co-israel-tim-thay-bac-den-4000-nam-tuoi-con-nguyen-ven-post1059131.vnp