Canaanite-era settlement discovery: 4,500-year-old copper dagger blade and a collection of intact pottery containers.

A previously unknown center of Canaanite-era settlement was recently stumbled upon by a curious electrician on his way to work. A 4,500-year-old copper dagger blade and a collection of intact pottery containers were discovered by Ahmad Nassar Yassin, a resident of the northern Israel village of Araba. The items include northern-style 4,500-year-old storage jars and pouring vessels, as well as the bronze dagger blade, which would have been attached to a wooden handle. As was typical of the era, the artifacts, most likely including foodstuffs, were meant to accompany the occupant of the burial cave on his way to the afterlife.

4,500-year-old artifacts discovered in a burial cave near Araba in northern Israel. (Nir Distelfeld/Israel Antiquities Authority)

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