Fragments of ostrich eggs dating back more than 4,000 years have been discovered in southern Israel, the country’s Antiquities Authority said on Thursday.
The find should provide a better understanding of the lives of ancient desert nomads.
The eggs were unearthed “in pieces” but in an “exceptional” state of preservation in the Negev desert during excavations in the sand dunes of Nitzana, near the border with Egypt, according to a statement from the Authority.
Archaeologists found them near a fireplace, among stones, flints, tools and pottery shards in a camp site used by nomads “since prehistoric times,” suggesting that the eggs were intended to be cooked, the statement added.
Wild ostriches disappeared from the region in the 19th century, according to the Antiquities Authority, and the eggs found could provide clues to the lives of ancient nomads, who left little lasting evidence of their presence given their lifestyle.
The eggs, which are estimated to be between 4,000 and 7,500 years old, are to be examined to refine their dating and put together “like a puzzle” in the hope of ascertaining their species and “exactly what they were used for.”
