The Unseen Record: Ninth–Seventh Millennia Cal. BP Wooden and Basketry Objects from Submerged Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel

A rare collection of 16 late prehistoric wooden and basketry artifacts, spanning the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Middle Chalcolithic periods (ninth–seventh millennia cal. BP), has been uncovered off the coast of Mount Carmel in Israel. These waterlogged finds—including bowls, shafts, a wedge, a trough, a pitchfork, logs, a mat, and a basket—provide an unprecedented glimpse into prehistoric material culture, revealing raw material preferences and manufacturing technologies. The discovery, drawn from underwater research over four decades, challenges the limited understanding of perishable organic materials in the archaeological record due to their typically poor preservation.

Rosenberg, D., Galili, E., & Langgut, D. (2023). The Unseen Record: Ninth–Seventh Millennia Cal. BP Wooden and Basketry Objects from Submerged Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel. Forests, 14(12), 2373. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14122373