Archaeologists discover lost village — underwater

A team from Flinders University in Australia and the University of Haifa in Israel has found what they're calling a "Lost Levantine village."

The excavation site, near Haifa, Israel, has revealed a 7,500-year-old water well, which has been partially excavated and was underwater thanks to prehistoric sea-level rising. The researchers believe the Kfar Samir site was once home to a village in the pre-pottery Neolithic period.

Jonathan Benjamin, the Flinders University archaeologist behind the excavation, noted in a statement that the find is important because the villagers used wells as trash bins, so the well's contents could shed new light on ancient trash. Some of the discarded items might include animal bones, plant fibers, and tools, which could show researchers how the Neolithic people hunted and ate.

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Benjamin added that the Kfar Samir site may also have been home to the oldest olive oil production center in the world. The archaeologists plan to create a 3D model of the well to further analyze the findings.