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TAU’s First Autonomous Boat is Ready to Sail

The boat will enter the upcoming “RoboBoat” competition.

A team of 15 TAU students from the School of Electrical Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering at The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and from The Blavatnik School of Computer Science at Raymond & Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences are preparing to compete in the annual RoboBoat competition (June 21-27), taking place in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The students have planned assembled, experimented and created an autonomous sailing boat, and SAIL-IL will be the first Israeli autonomous cruise to sail from Tel Aviv University.

Original partners of the project, Shoval Ben Shoshan and Nadav Sholav, made use of their experience from their military service when executing this exciting, and no doubt also challenging, project. Nadav got interested in the project due to his background in the Navy and explains that “The faculty encourages projects across different schools, allowing for inter-disciplinary cooperation, as well as engaging with the world outside for outside inspiration. The competition offers an opportunity to combine skills from different engineering fields to tackle a real-world challenge”.

Shoval adds that “Universities from around the world are participating in the RoboBoat competition. Our vision is to be the first team from TAU – but not the last – to compete. In fact, we are already looking for new students who would like to join and lead next year’s project”, says Shoval.

 

SAIL-IL Team members

The Event Details

We will also be sharing highlights from the event on our Instagram profile – follow the hashtag #tau_sail.

The schedule for the event:

11:00 – 11:30 – Gathering

11:30 – 12:30 – First sea trial

12:30 – 13:00 – Preparations for second sea trial

13:00-14:00 – Second sea trial

 

Featured image: SAIL-IL Team members preparing the boat before its sea trial

A Healthier Alternative to Antibiotics

New study proves biological treatment can be a suitable alternative to antibiotics.

In a groundbreaking new study led by Dr. Natalia Freund and doctoral candidate Avia Watson at the TAU Sackler Faculty of Medicine, researchers were able to develop a “biological antibiotic” and demonstrates that human antibodies can offer an alternative to the traditional chemical antibiotics. The study was conducted in collaboration with laboratories in the United States and China and published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications.

During the past century, antibiotics have served as the main treatment against bacteria, being both efficient and cheap. Antibiotics are chemical agents, designed to block and destroy specific cells, such as microbial cells. However, since some biological mechanisms are common to both human and microbial cells, the range of antibiotics that can safely be used without harming the patient is limited. For example, cell wall components of many strains of microbes are common to human cells; therefore, any damage caused to the microbial cell walls can lead to extensive damage to body systems. Furthermore, in recent years the number of microbial strains that are resistant to existing antibiotics has grown, which presents new challenges of defending the body from microbes in the post-antibiotic era.

For these reasons, Dr. Natalia Freund and her laboratory team have spent the recent years searching for a biological alternative to known antibiotics. Dr. Freund explains, “Advances in biological medicine have enabled us to rout the germs in new ways that are not based solely on antibiotics, allowing for a solution to the challenge posed by resistant germs. Our study is an initial proof of the concept of employing monoclonal antibodies (derived from single cells) as an effective therapy for combating bacterial pathogens”. Antibodies are proteins that are produced naturally by our immune response following infection or a vaccine. They harbor many advantages such as specificity, stability and safety. This is why antibodies are today in widespread use in the clinic for treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and viral infections such as COVID-19.

Tuberculosis as Test Case

The research team chose Tuberculosis, which is caused by infection of the bacilli Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a test case and were able, for the first time ever, to create an effective treatment based on anti-bacterial antibodies that developed naturally during infection (the antibodies were extracted from a patient who had been infected, and has since recovered, from tuberculosis). Another reason for the choice of tuberculosis is that although the vaccine against tuberculosis was developed 100 years ago (and is based on the attenuated bacillus bovis (BCG) strain), it is not effective for adults and does not prevent infection. In addition, in recent years, more and more strains of disease have developed that are resistant to the only treatment currently available: treatment with antibiotics. Since tuberculosis bacteria are highly contagious and are transmitted through the air and damaging to the lungs, the spread of untreated resistant strains of tuberculosis constitutes a real hazard. Today, about a quarter of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis, with the rates of drug-resistant strains peaking   as high as 40% in some countries. In Israel, there are about 200 active tuberculosis cases every year.

 

Dr. Natalia Freund and her research team

Future Targets: Pneumonia and Staphylococcal Infections

Due to the size and complexity of the tuberculosis bacillus, previous efforts to isolate monoclonal antibodies against it have been futile. The researchers in Dr. Freund’s laboratory have succeeded in isolating two types of antibodies which contributed to a 50% reduction of the bacterial levels in mice relative to other mice that were not treated with antibodies. These antibodies have been found to be effective against three different strains of the tuberculosis bacterium and are expected to be effective also against additional strains that have not yet been investigated, including strains that are resistant to antibiotics

Following the success of the study, Dr. Freund’s laboratory is currently exploring the possibility of extending the “biological” substitute for antibiotics to include other diseases. “The demonstrated case for this study will enable us to expand on our future work to include diseases such as pneumonia and staphylococcal infections,” says Dr. Freund.

Israel’s Premier Artificial Intelligence Event is Back!

TAU’s AI Week brings together top Israeli and global experts in the field for three fascinating days, Feb 22-24.

It is time for TAU’s annual International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI), continuing our tradition of gathering prominent figures who address the most significant issues in the field with technology experts, industry executives, and government representatives.

Combining technological leadership, applied AI and cutting-edge research, AI Week will highlight the way in which AI technology is revolutionizing business strategy, policy and future development. Discussions will focus on formulating national plans for the advancement of AI, the use of AI in medicine and implementing AI to advance the economy in a post corona world.

Speakers include: Prof. Isaac Ben Israel (Head of the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop on Science, Technology and Security, Head of the Cyber ​​Center at Tel Aviv University), Sumaya AlHajeri (Head of Governance and Data at the Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, UAE), Sana Khareghani (Head of UK Office for Artificial Intelligence), Carme Artigas (Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, Spain), Dr. Eviatar Matania (Former Director General, Israel National Cyber Directorate) and more.

The conference program can be viewed here.

Participation is free of charge, but requires registration in advance. Please register here.

Children with Autism during Lockdown: Serious Implications for Behavior and Development

A new TAU study examines the difficulties experienced by children with different levels of autism and their parents during Israel’s first lockdown during the coronavirus crisis (in the spring of 2020). The data shows that the drastic changes in the children’s routines and their prolonged stay in their homes instead of their special education had serious implications for the behavior and development of the children and impacted their parent’s ability to support them

The study was led by Dr. Itay Tokatly-Latzer, Prof. Orit Karnieli-Miller and Prof. Yael Leitner from the TAU Sackler Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and was published in the academic journal ‘Autism’.

Lack of Routine Caused Regression

The study group consisted of the parents of 25 children with autism who shared the difficulties they faced during lockdown with the researchers in real time. Some children would for instance refuse to go to sleep at night – screaming and restless, they would stay awake all through the night. Others experienced behavioral regression, returning to repetitive and stereotypical movements that had initially improved.

At the same time, however, the researchers note that there were families who experienced it differently and who found creative ways to help their children get through the crisis in a positive way: One couple chose to go along with the particular interests of their child, engaging in repetitive cake baking. The parents of another child who needed to be in constant movement, bought their son a trampoline so that he could spend his excess energy inside their home.

Support and Guidance Programs for Parents of Children with Autism

Prof. Karnieli-Miller: “Lockdowns are difficult for all of us, but all the more so for families with autistic children. For these children, even the slightest change of routine can cause harm and throw them off balance. The study showed that in many instances the parents were left helpless as they did not have the tools and the professional knowledge required to deal with the situation. The parents need to be given the tools, support and guidance in order to deal with this huge challenge and enable them to create a ‘flexible routine’ for their children.

“The findings of the study show that during periods of lockdowns the State must do whatever it takes to prevent the closing down of special education, in order to prevent causing harm to children with special needs. If the State nevertheless decides that such steps be taken, it must immediately implement assistance and guidance programs for parents of children with autism. The parents need to receive professional help and better tools for caring for their children.”

Ready for Launch!

TAU’s first nanosatellite ready to be launched into space.

Watch it Launch

The moment we’ve all been waiting for is now only days away: TAU’s first nanosatellite, TAU SAT1 is about to be launched into space. This exciting journey has been followed closely by many on the university’s social media, and we are happy to share that the launch itself can be watched live on Facebook on February 20 at 7:36 PM. 

 

The development of TAU-SAT1 has been followed by many on the university’s social media

 

Small Satellite – a Big Step

“This is a nanosatellite, or miniature satellite, of the ‘CubeSat’ variety,” explains Dr. Ofer Amrani, head of Tel Aviv University’s miniature satellite lab. “The satellite’s dimensions are 10 by 10 by 30 cm, the size of a shoebox. It weighs less than 2.5 kg. TAU-SAT1 is the first nanosatellite designed, built and tested independently in academia in Israel.”

 

The nanosatellite was devised, developed, assembled, and tested at the new Nanosatellite Center, an interdisciplinary endeavor of The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering,  Raymond & Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences and the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The entire process has taken two years – an achievement that would not have been possible without the involvement of many people: the university administration, who supported the project and the setting up of the infrastructure on campus, Prof. Yossi Rosenwaks, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Professors Sivan Toledo and Haim Suchowski from the Raymond & Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences; Prof. Colin Price, researcher and lecturer in Athmospheric Sciences in the School of Geosciences and Head of the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and, most importantly, the project team that dealt with R&D around the clock: Elad Sagi, Dolev Bashi, Tomer Nahum, Idan Finkelstein, Dr. Diana Laufer, Eitan Shlisel, Eran Levin, David Greenberg, Sharon Mishal, and Orly Blumberg.

 

Space Weather

TAU-SAT1 is a research satellite and will be conducting several experiments while in orbit. Among other things, it will measure cosmic radiation in space. “We know that that there are high-energy particles moving through space that originate from cosmic radiation,” says Dr. Meir Ariel, director of the university’s Nanosatellite Center. “Our scientific task is to monitor this radiation, and to measure the flux of these particles and their products. Space is a hostile environment, not only for humans but also for electronic systems. When these particles hit astronauts or electronic equipment in space, they can cause significant damage. The scientific information collected by our satellite will make it possible to design means of protection for astronauts and space systems. To this end, we incorporated several experiments into the satellite, which were developed by the Space Environment Department at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center.”

 

Like the weather on Earth, there is also weather in Space. This weather is linked to storms that occur on the surface of our Sun, and impact the environment around the Earth. Prof. Colin Price researches and lectures in Atmospheric Sciences and explains that “When there are storms on the Sun, highly energetic particles are fired at the Earth at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second, and when these energetic particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere, they can cause lots of damage to satellites, spacecraft and even astronauts.” TAUSAT1 will be studying these storms and their impact on the atmosphere at the height of 400km above the Earth, testing the damage produced by the tiny particles. This will help understand the hostile environment satellite face due to space weather.

 

WATCH: TAU’s Nanosatellite Project

 

Satellite Station on Roof of Faculty Building

At an altitude of 400 km above sea level, the nanosatellite will orbit the earth at a dizzying speed of 27,600 km per hour, or 7.6 km per second. At this speed, the satellite will complete an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes. “In order to collect data, we built a satellite station on the roof of the engineering building,” says Dr. Amrani. “Our station, which also serves as an amateur radio station, includes a number of antennas and an automated control system. When TAU-SAT1 passes ‘over’ the State of Israel, that is, within a few thousand kilometer radius from the ground station’s receiving range, the antennas will track the satellite’s orbit and a process of data transmission will occur between the satellite and the station. Such transmissions will take place about four times a day, with each one lasting less than 10 minutes. In addition to its scientific mission, the satellite will also serve as a space relay station for amateur radio communities around the world. In total, the satellite is expected to be active for several months, after which it will burn up in the atmosphere and return to the Earth as stardust.

 

TAU Joins ‘New Space’ Revolution

Launching the TAU-SAT1 nanosatellite marks TAU’s first step of joining the ‘new space’ revolution, aiming to open space up to civilians as well. The idea is that any researcher or student, from any faculty at Tel Aviv University, or outside of it, will be able to plan and launch experiments into space in the future – even without being an expert in the field.

 

Over the last few years, TAU has been working on establishing a Nanosatellite Center to build small “shoebox” size satellites for launch into space. “We are seeing a revolution in the field of civilian space”, explains Prof. Colin Price, one of the academic heads of the new center. “We call this ‘new space’, as opposed to the ‘old space’, where only giant companies with huge budgets and large teams of engineers could build satellites. 

 

After undergoing pre-flight testing at the Japanese space agency JAXA, TAU-SAT1 was sent to the United States, where it “hitched a ride” on a NASA and Northrop Grumman resupply spacecraft destined for the International Space Station. At the station, this upcoming Saturday evening, a robotic arm will release TAU-SAT1 into a low-earth orbit (LEO) around the Earth, approximately 400km above the Earth.

Last inspections in the clean room. TAU SAT1

TAU Announces First of Its Kind International Program

First in the world to combine politics, cyber and government.

Tel Aviv University launches a new program, first of its kind in the world, taught in English and targets Master’s students from Israel and overseas who wish to learn about the cyber-digital revolution and its impact on politics, society and the economy. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the program was launched this year as a small-scale pilot. It is expected to expand considerably next year, to include large numbers of international students. The Program is offered by the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Exploring the Non-Technological Sides of Cyber and Digital

The Head of the Program is Prof. Eviatar Matania, who until recently headed the Israel National Cyber Directorate. According to Prof. Matania, “The new program provides the knowledge and skills required for leading operations, strategy and policy in the rapidly developing cyber world. It is open to people with or without technological background, because it aims to understand the non-technological sides of the cyber and digital worlds: modern economics, big data, artificial intelligence, cyber threats and cyber security, and the resulting changes in society, culture and politics.”

The new program was designed with three types of students in mind: those coming from the technological disciplines who wish to understand the broader aspects of the cyber-digital revolution; those from management and government, who need these tools to manage large systems in the new world; and finally, students from various interfacing disciplines who wish to broaden their education – and anchor their own research in the dramatic changes taking place in politics, society and the economy.

Cyber – More than Cyberattacks

Prof. Matania emphasizes “When people think of Cyber, they typically think of cyberattacks. We are trying to break out of this outdated perception. Cyber is so much more than attacks and security. It is the new economy, politics, culture and society. Anyone who wishes to take part in government and the management of large systems in the future must become acquainted with the connections between strategy, policy and technology.”

TAU’s VP International, Prof. Milette Shamir, adds: “The new Cyber Program is an important addition to the series of international programs offered by TAU. Our programs are built upon a solid foundation of local expertise and include studies in security and diplomacy, conflict resolution, emergency management, environment, immigration, archaeology, documentary films and more. Today, we create programs in which Israeli and foreign students from all over the world study together, generating a unique dialogue between the local and the global.”

Featured image: “Cyber Horse” on TAU Campus

More than 20,000 participants on TAU’s Open Day 2021

Record high attendance despite event held online due to Corona.

This year, TAU wholeheartedly embraced the challenge of organizing its Open Day event online, resulting in a hugely successful event spanning over three days and comprising more than 200 Zoom meetings.

  “In the months preceding Tel Aviv University’s Open Day, we produced an introductory video of the university campus, dozens of videos about the various fields of study as well as 50 pre-recorded lectures.”, explains Alon Weinpress, Tel Aviv University’s Marketing Director. “All this, we put together in order to helped those interested in studying here gain a clear understanding of the various study programs offered here at TAU, teach them about the admission options and also give them a feel of the campus – despite the online nature of the event. Our efforts proved themselves worthwhile and the end result was very satisfactory and with few glitches. The number of participants also turned out higher than expected!”

In the Zoom meetings, potential incoming students could learn about various study programs for B.A.s and more advanced degrees, and they could also choose to take advantage of personal counselling sessions, receiving tips on how to choose a suitable field of study for oneself and more.

  More than 20,000 potential future TAU students joined the online Zoom sessions where they met and interacted with the academic and administrative staff, current students and graduates of their field of interest.

  This year saw a particularly strong interest for the fields of psychology, management, biology, chemistry, medicine, the various engineering disciplines, computer science, neuroscience, sociology, law, political science and the health professions.

  Also tremendously popular were sessions offering tips for how to choose a field of study; alternative admission routes to the regular entrance exam and how one may improve one’s chances of admission by taking online courses.

  The Open Day marked the opening of the registration season for the academic year 2021/22.   

 

Online Impact: TAU 1st in Israel, Among Top 100 Worldwide

Webometrix ranks web presence of institutions of higher education.

Tel Aviv University was ranked 73rd out of more than 31,000 institutions worldwide, number one in Israel and third in Asia by Webometrics, a ranking system designed to measure the impact of academic knowledge made available online.

The ranking is published twice a year and was created to promote the availability of academic articles online and, more broadly, open access to academic research.

Webometrics’ higher education ranking is determined by three objective factors:

  1. Impact (accounts for 50% of individual institution’s score), measured by the number of external networks linking to the institution’s webpages;
  2. Openness (10%), measured by the number of citations from top 210 authors according to Google Scholar Profiles and
  3. Excellence (40%), measured by the number of papers among the top ten percent most cited in a given field.

Hebrew University is ranked 165th (on second place in Israel) and the Technion 226th (on third place in Israel). A total of 44 Israeli institutions can be found among the top 22,504 institutions.

Read more about Webometrix ranking here >>

View the full list of Israeli institutions with ranking here >>

And the Oscar goes to…

Tel Aviv University Team Receives Prize for Significant Technological Impact to Film Industry.

The American Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the Academy Award winners in the Scientific & Engineering category for 2021: Prof. Meir Feder of the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University, and his former student and co-founding partner of the startup company Amimon, Dr. Zvi Reznic. Amimon’s senior executives Guy Dorman and Ron Yogev also share the Award. Amimon was founded in 2004 by Prof. Meir Feder, Dr. Zvi Resnic and Noam Geri (also a TAU graduate).

Watch TAU Prof. Meir Feder’s reaction to winning an Oscar:

 

 

Used in the Global Film Industry

Every year, in addition to the winners of the traditional Oscar Awards, the American Academy of Motion Pictures announces winners in various scientific and technical categories, honored for their substantial impact on the global film industry. Last night, the Academy announced that the wireless video technology developed by the Amimon team, and implemented through Amimon’s chip-set, is the winner of the prestigious Award for significant scientific and engineering contribution to the film industry.

Prof. Feder says that the prize-winning technology is now used throughout the global film industry. He explains that the technology is able to transmit very high quality video shots, reliable and without delays, from a large number of cameras, in real time, to monitors on the set. This provides the film’s director and the control crew full control of all shooting angles simultaneously.

Joseph Pitchhadze, a film creator from The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television explains that “The main importance of Prof. Meir Feder’s technological development is shortening the set building in Multi Camera productions. This novel technology saves production time and frees significantly more time for the creation itself.”

The Academy Award Committee stated: “By using novel extensions of digital data transmission and compression algorithms, and data prioritization based on error rate, the Amimon chipset supports the creation of systems with virtually unrestricted camera motion, expanding creative freedom during filming.”

Proud Moment for TAU

Prof. Feder: “This is a very exciting day for me, and a proud moment for Tel Aviv University. We developed the basic technology in 2004-2005, when everyone thought that the task was very difficult or even impossible. We knew that it was a real technological achievement, but never imagined we would win the Oscar for it. About a year ago, the Prize Committee notified us that we had been nominated, but I thought it was just a gimmick.

“About a month ago, I suddenly got an official email from the Academy in Hollywood, informing us that we had won the Oscar. We were elated. I have won many academic awards, but the Oscar is certainly the most famous, an award that every person in the street knows. For me and the great team who took part in developing the technology, this is an enormous achievement and I feel very proud.”

Featured image: The Happy Team (from left to right): Guy Dorman, Dr Zvi Reznic, Prof. Meir Feder and Ron Yogev

A Glimpse into the Wardrobes of King David and King Solomon

Archaeologists discover fabric dyed royal purple, dating back to the time of King David and King Solomon.

“King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior inlaid with love.” (Song of Songs 3:9–10) For the first time, rare evidence has been found of fabric dyed with royal purple dating from the time of King David and King Solomon.

While examining the findings from the Timna Valley dig (an ancient copper production district in southern Israel), archeologists were surprised to find remnants of woven fabric, a tassel and fibers of wool dyed with royal purple. Direct radiocarbon dating confirms that the finds date from approximately 1000 BCE, corresponding to the biblical monarchies of King David and King Solomon in Jerusalem. The rare dye is often mentioned in the Bible and appears in various Jewish and Christian contexts. This is the first time that purple-dyed textiles dating back to the Iron Age have been found in Israel, or indeed throughout the Southern Levant.

More Precious Than Gold

The research was carried out by Dr. Naama Sukenik from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Zohar Amar, Dr. David Iluz and Dr. Alexander Varvak from Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Orit Shamir from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The unexpected finds have been published in the prestigious PLOS ONE journal.

According to the researchers, true purple [argaman] was produced in an elaborate and difficult process from three species of mollusk indigenous to the Mediterranean Sea: The dye was produced from a gland located within the body of the mollusk by means of a complex chemical process that took several days. Today, most scholars agree that the two precious dyes, purple [argaman] and light blue, or azure [tekhelet] were produced from the purple dye mollusk under different conditions of exposure to light. When exposed to light, azure is obtained whereas without light exposure, a purple hue is obtained. These colors are often mentioned together in the ancient sources, and both have symbolic and religious significance to this day. The Temple priests, David and Solomon, and Jesus of Nazareth are all described as having worn clothing dyed purple.

 

King David wearing purple while anointed king by Samuel (Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria, 3rd century AD)

The analytical tests conducted at Bar Ilan University’s laboratories, together with dyes that were reconstructed by Prof. Zohar Amar and Dr. Naama Sukenik, identify the species used to dye the Timna textiles and the desired hues. In order to reconstruct the mollusk dyeing process, Prof. Amar travelled to Italy where he cracked thousands of mollusks (which the Italians eat) and produced raw material from their dye glands, which was then used in hundreds of attempts to reconstruct the ancient dyeing process. “This practical work took us back thousands of years,” says Prof. Amar, “and allowed us to better understand obscure historical sources associated with the precious colors of azure and purple.”

“This is a very exciting and important discovery,” explains Dr. Naama Sukenik, curator of organic finds at the Israel Antiquities Authority. “This is the first piece of textile ever found from the time of David and Solomon that is dyed with the prestigious purple dye. In antiquity, purple attire was associated with the nobility, with priests, and of course with royalty. The gorgeous shade of the purple, the fact that it does not fade, and the difficulty in producing the dye, all made it the most highly valued of the dyes, which often cost more than gold. Until the current discovery, we had only encountered mollusk-shell waste and potsherds with patches of dye, which provided evidence of the purple industry in the Iron Age. Now, for the first time, we have direct evidence of the dyed fabrics themselves, preserved for some 3000 years”.

Silicon Valley of the Iron Age

Prof. Ben-Yosef says, “Our archaeological expedition has been excavating continuously at Timna since 2013. The region’s extremely dry climate enables us to recover organic materials such as textile, cords and leather from the Iron Age, from the time of David and Solomon, providing us with a unique glimpse into life in biblical times. We can excavate for another hundred years in Jerusalem and still, we will not be able to discover textiles from 3000 years ago. The state of preservation at Timna is exceptional and it is paralleled only by much more recent sites, such as Masada and the Judean Desert Caves.”

“In recent years, we have been excavating a new site inside Timna known as ‘Slaves’ Hill’. The name may be misleading, since far from being slaves, the laborers were highly skilled metalworkers. Timna was a production center for copper, the Iron Age equivalent of modern-day oil. Copper smelting required advanced metallurgical understanding that was a guarded secret, and those who held this knowledge were the ‘Hi-Tech’ experts of the time. Slaves’ Hill is the largest copper-smelting site in the valley and it is filled with piles of industrial waste such as slag from the smelting furnaces. One of these heaps yielded three scraps of colored cloth. The color immediately attracted our attention, but we struggled to believe that we had found true purple from such an ancient period”.

Royal Argaman – the Most Prestigious Color

The dye was identified with an advanced analytical instrument (HPLC) that indicated the presence of unique dye molecules, originating only in certain species of mollusk. According to Dr. Naama Sukenik, “Most of the colored textiles found at Timna, and in archaeological research in general, were dyed using various plant-based dyes that were readily available and easier to dye with. The use of animal-based dyes is regarded as much more prestigious, and served as an important indicator of the wearer’s high economic and social status. The remnants of the purple-dyed cloth that we found are not only the most ancient in Israel, but in the Southern Levant in general. We also believe that we have succeeded in identifying the double-dyeing method in one of the fragments, in which two species of mollusk were used in a sophisticated way, to enrich the dye. This technology is described by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, from the first century CE, and the dye it produced was considered the most prestigious.”

Prof. Ben-Yosef identifies the copper-production center at Timna as part of the biblical Kingdom of Edom, which bordered the Kingdom of Israel to the south. According to him, the important finds should revolutionize our concepts of nomadic societies in the Iron Age: “The new finds reinforce our assumption that there was an elite at Timna, attesting to a stratified society. In addition, since the mollusks are indigenous to the Mediterranean, this society obviously maintained trade relations with other peoples who lived on the coastal plain. However, we do not have evidence of any permanent settlements in the Edomite territory. The Edomite Kingdom was a kingdom of nomads in the early Iron Age.”

“When we think of nomads, it is difficult for us to free ourselves from comparisons with contemporary Bedouins, and we therefore find it hard to imagine kings without magnificent stone palaces and walled cities. Yet, in certain circumstances, nomads can also create a complex socio-political structure, one that the biblical writers could identify as a kingdom. Of course, this whole debate has repercussions for our understanding of Jerusalem in the same period. We know that the Tribes of Israel were originally nomadic and that the process of settlement was gradual and prolonged. Archaeologists are looking for King David’s palace. However, perhaps King David did not express his wealth in splendid buildings, but rather with objects more suited to a nomadic heritage such as textiles and artifacts.”

According to Prof. Ben-Yosef, “It is wrong to assume that if no grand buildings and fortresses are found, then biblical descriptions of the United Monarchy in Jerusalem must be literary fiction. Our new research at Timna has showed us that even without such buildings, there were kings in our region who ruled over complex societies, formed alliances and trade relations, and waged war on each other. The wealth of a nomadic society was not measured in palaces and monuments made of stone, but in things that were no less valued in the ancient world – such as the copper produced at Timna and the purple dye that was traded with its copper smelters.”

Featured image: Wool textile fragment decorated by threads dyed with Royal Purple, ~1000 BCE, Timna Valley, Israel. Photo: Dafna Gazit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

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