Rock art, believed to be over 4,200 years old, has been discovered on megalithic burial sites in Israel.
The art was found on dolmens, single-chamber burial structures built from huge rocks in what is now the Yehudiya Nature Reserve in the Galilee and Golan Heights. Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel-Hai College studied four different sites where dolmen builders engraved “artistic motifs” on the walls of the tombs.
The rock art includes carvings of mountain goats, antelopes and wild cows. A human face is depicted on the capstone of one dolmen and geometric shapes were engraved into another dolmen.
“To date, many dolmens were identified in Israel and in neighboring countries, but we knew almost nothing about the civilization of these super-builders beyond the remains of the enormous structures they left behind as evidence of their existence in the region,” said Uri Berger, Upper Galilee archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority, in a statement emailed to Fox News. “The engravings in the rock open a window, for the first time, to the culture behind the construction of these dolmens.”
Israel continues to reveal new aspects of its rich history. Ancient cannabis and frankincense, for example, were recently discovered at a Biblical-era shrine in Israel.
In another project, hidden underground chambers dating back 2,000 years, were recently discovered near the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
A 6-year-old boy in Israel also recently discovered a 3,500-year-old clay tablet depicting an ancient captive and his captor.
In another project, an Iron Age temple complex discovered near Jerusalem is shedding new light on an ancient Biblical city.
Last year, the room in Jerusalem venerated as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper was revealed in stunning detail thanks to remarkable 3D laser scanning technology.