New research was recently published in the journal Asian Archaeology, analyzing rock art in dolmens (megalithic tombs made of piled rocks) in the southern Levant. The authors studied carvings on dolmens in the Galilee and Golan which date back to the Intermediate Bronze age, a time about which relatively little is known archaeologically in Israel. One example of dolmen rock art was recently identified in the Yehudiya Nature Reserve which included carvings of a heard of horned animals such as ibexes, antelopes, and wild cattle. Since the rock carvings are faded, the researchers used reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) photography to enhance the features and identify the animals. Scholars have started a project to locate and document dolmen rock art throughout Israel in an attempt to understand the culture of the people who lived in Israel over 4000 years ago.
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