According a new study in the journal, PLOS ONE, researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered that the elites of Jerusalem mixed vanilla with their wine in the 6th century BC. Molecular residue analysis was performed on pottery sherds from eight wine jars that were unearthed in excavations within the City of David National Park. The vessels came from two locations: the eastern slopes of the City of David hill and the Givati Parking Lot, west of the hill. Some of jar handles bore a rosette seal impression, which the researchers say indicate they were for the Kingdom of Judah’s royal administration. They date to the days of King Zedekiah and were discovered in two buildings that had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. Scholars have suggested these results indicate the Kingdom of Judah was connected by international trade routes to places as far away as India to obtain vanilla.
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-702646
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266085
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