Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a 2,100-year-old agricultural farmstead in Northern Israel’s Galilee region. According to Dr. Amani Abu-Hamid, director of the salvage excavation for the IAA, the occupants of the homestead appear to have left in a hurry, leaving behind their possessions.

“We were lucky to discover this capsule, frozen in time, in which articles remained where they were left by the occupants, who apparently left in haste, perhaps from impending danger,” she said. She pointed out that this was the first time remains from the period were found in the Galilee.

Moreover, she said, the site teaches valuable lessons about the spread of the Hasmonean Empire and daily life in the Hellenistic period. The dig revealed loom weights used for weaving garments, large ceramic storage vessels, and iron agricultural implements, including various picks and scythes.