Archaeologists Discover Remains of 2,000-Year-Old Jewish Settlement in Israel

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Thursday that archaeologists discovered remains from a locale in Beersheba that dates back to the first century.

Artifacts found at the site included piece of an oil lamp depicting a nine-branched menorah, as well as ancient vessels and coins.

— Maya Margit (@MayaMargit) April 4, 2019

​"This is probably one of the earliest artistic depictions of a nine-branched menorah yet discovered," said Dr. Peter Fabian of Ben-Gurion University and Dr. Daniel Varga of the IAA in a statement.

— Maya Margit (@MayaMargit) April 4, 2019

​According to Israel Today, a few of the lamps discovered had images of a seven-branched menorah. This can be attributed to the ruling in Babylonian Talmud that only menorahs placed inside the Temple could have seven branches. Therefore, lamps that were more commonly used typically had eight to 11 branches.

The team also found a network of tunnels that were probably used by Jewish rebels around the year 135, during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire.

The site also showed signs of what scientists think might have been a fire that occurred during the Great Revolt, also known as the First Jewish-Roman War, around the year 70.