Fragments of discarded kitchen utensils could help a team of archaeologists in Galilee, including a Maltese senior lecturer, nswer a pivotal question that has troubled researchers for years.

The excavation is taking place not far from Cana, where Jesus is said to have turned into wine the water contained in jars that are similar to those produced in this 2,000-year-old stone factory.

“We know that stone utensils started being produced late in the first century before Christ and became popular in the first century after Christ,” Dennis Mizzi, senior lecturer in Hebrew and Jewish Studies in the Department of Oriental Studies, told this newspaper.

“Although it is believed that production stopped in the second century, this is disputed by some, who believe they continued to be used later on, so the question remains: when did they stop producing stone utensils?

“The reply to this question would answer other questions about Jewish culture and ritual practices during that period.”

According to Jewish belief, stone, unlike ceramic, was not susceptible to ritual impurity.

Dr Dennis Mizzi of the University of MaltaDr Dennis Mizzi of the University of Malta

“In the Torah, we come across accounts of Jewish ritual traditions where anyone accessing the sacred realm had to be in a state of ritual purity. Sources of impurity included a dead body,” Dr Mizzi explained.

Maintaining ritual purity was particularly important for priests, who had to serve at the temple, but in the first century, many Jews started to maintain ritual purity in their homes as a sign of piety. This explains the spread of stone vessels in sites of all types throughout Judaea and Galilee.

The fragments of stone bowls and mugs were found in a cave on a site known as Einot Amitai. So far, the researchers have not found stone jars, but these were, of course, part of the same industry.

The cave was found some years back, but a comprehensive dig was only launched this August by the Israeli Ariel University and the University of Malta.

The study is being led by Yonatan Adler, of Ariel University. He is assisted by Dr Mizzi, who specialises in ancient Judaism and biblical studies, and is involved in another excavation in Galilee.

While evidence of stone vessel production has been found in other sites in Galilee, this is the first time archaeologists found a quarry and workshop for them.

Looking for an answer to the pertinent question in such a workshop is ideal, as when the vessels were no longer popular, the producers closed up shop and abandoned the place.

Coins and pottery discarded at the workshop now helps the archaeologists pin down the date at which it was abandoned.

On the other hand, trying to answer this question by digging at domestic structures was much more complicated, as houses remained inhabited for centuries, even after the utensils were no longer used.

But the discovery will also shed light on the technological development of those times. Since this site was a factory, the researchers are only finding discarded remains of vessels, which probably broke during manufacture.

However, they are also coming across the blocks from which such vessels were cut, providing indications of the tools and the ways they were carved.

The roof of the cave was removed for safety reasons while the archaeologists dug at the site. Photos provided by Dr Dennis Mizzi

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