{"id":311219,"date":"2025-07-09T22:43:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicult.it\/?p=311219"},"modified":"2025-07-10T10:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T08:09:05","slug":"egyptian-donkeys-incorporated-into-ritual-burials-in-the-early-bronze-age-at-tell-e%e1%b9%a3-%e1%b9%a3afi-gath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.classicult.it\/en\/egyptian-donkeys-incorporated-into-ritual-burials-in-the-early-bronze-age-at-tell-e%e1%b9%a3-%e1%b9%a3afi-gath\/","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian donkeys incorporated into ritual burials in the Early Bronze Age at Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egyptian donkeys may have been incorporated into ritual burials – while local donkeys were part of the menu – in the Early Bronze Age at Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath, in present-day Israel, per analysis of four complete donkey skeletons and other remains<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Abstract from the paper<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Archaeological excavations<\/a> of an Early Bronze Age III (c. 2900\u20132600\/2550 BCE) domestic neighborhood at the site of Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath, Israel, uncovered four complete skeletons of young female donkeys that were buried immediately below house floors as ritual foundation deposits. Multi-isotope analyses (carbon, oxygen and strontium) of their teeth document that each of the donkeys was born and raised in Egypt before being brought to Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath where they were slaughtered and buried beneath house floors in a non-elite domestic neighborhood. In contrast, isotopic analysis of teeth from a single isolated donkey mandible and additional sheep and goat teeth that displayed evidence of being used for food consumption and not associated with a complete burial, identify the donkey as born and raised among local livestock in the vicinity of Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath. The intentionally buried of specifically imported and highly valued young jennies reveal what appears to be a ritually charged characteristic when constructing domestic residences at the site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photographs
Photographs of the four donkey burials of Stratum E5c in Area E at Tell e\u1e63-\u1e62\u00e2fi\/Gath. Credits: Arnold et al., 2025, PLoS ONE, CC-BY 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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