Tinshemet cave excavation project 

Tinshemet cave (also called Mugharet Al Watwat, meaning “cave of the bat”) is situated on the east bank of the Nahal Beit Arif, near the city of Shoham, in central Israel. The cave lies about 100m above-sea level and about 15m above the bed of the valley. The cave is an elongated passage composed of 2 irregular chambers (around 12 meters long) which leads to a last chamber with an open chimney. 

Tinshemet cave was first mentioned during the 1940th, when Prof. Stekelis visited the site and collected several flint artifacts (cores, Levallois flakes, points) and animal bones. The current excavation project at Tinshemet cave launched in 2016 under the supervision of Dr. Yossi Zaidner from the Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

The excavations focus on two main areas; the terrace at the entrance to the cave and the first chamber. In both areas, large amount of Middle Paleolithic flint artifacts have been discovered in association with human remains and animals bones. In addition, objects of symbolic nature, such as ochre and non-local rocks and pebbles have been identified clustered on the terrace of the cave. 

Preliminary observations on the lithic assemblage indicate that the industry is Levallois oriented. The retouched tools occur in low frequences. The use of fire by prehistoric man is attested by the abundance of burnt flint and bones. 

The Tinshemet cave excavations project aims at identifying the human species that inhabited the cave during the Levantine Middle Paleolithic period and reconstructing their cultural, technical and ritual behaviors.  

 

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