'Ubeidiya National Park in the Jordan Valley Opens to the Public скачать в хорошем качестве

'Ubeidiya National Park in the Jordan Valley Opens to the Public

Giraffes and mammoths walked here: 'Ubeidiya Park in the Jordan Valley – an archaeological site of world-class importance for researching the history of man – the earliest in the country and one of the earliest in the world outside of the African continent, was dedicated today, Thursday, April 4-in a celebratory ceremony. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Jordan Valley Regional Council Head, Idan Greenbaum, Israel Antiquities Authority Head Eli Escusido, Israel Nature and Parks Authority General Manager Raya Shurky, Lake Kinneret Authority Chairman Moti Dotan, and the representative excavator of the Tell 'Ubeidiya renewed archaeological mission, Prof. Omry Barzilai. The site is located next to Kibbutz Bet Zera, and was first identified in 1959 by Eli Merimsky, a nature instructor and area resident. A series of excavation expeditions were led respectively by Prof. Moshe Stekelis, Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef and Prof. Eitan Tchernov. These missions revealed early hominin remains; flint, limestone and basalt tools; evidence of many kinds of wildlife including giraffes, leopards, and hippopotami; and even of extinct species such as mammoths and saber-tooth tigers. The hominin who lived in 'Ubeidiya belonged to the species known as homo erectus. A recently-published study regarding a youth’s skeleton found in the Stekelis excavation provides a new understanding – the human migration out of Africa across the globe was not a one-time event, but rather occurred in waves. After the last excavation season in 1999, the site stood abandoned and exposed to the ravages of nature. Then in 2021, site excavations were renewed in the context of a focused study by Prof Omry Barzilai on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, together with Prof. Miriam Belmaker, from the University of Tulsa in the USA. In its wake, the site underwent conservation and development, and is now accessible to the general public. In 2021 the Israel Nature and Parks Authority declared 'Ubeidiya to be a national park. Simultaneously, the site was associated with the national project to rehabilitate and revive the Jordan River Reserve in the Lower Jordan River’s northern segment, led by the Lake Kinneret Authority and the Jordan Valley Regional Council. All of the relevant bodies coordinated efforts recently to implement the project of opening to the general public. Access roads were installed, as well as a circular pedestrian route with explanatory signage. This is the first of three site development stages. In the next stage, the original excavation work hut will be opened as a visitor center. Jordan Valley Regional Council Head and United Kinneret Towns Chairman, Idan Grinbaum said at the ceremony: “We are proud to be partners in the important project of opening 'Ubeidiya National Park to the public. This is one of the large-scale projects we are implementing to develop the Jordan River Reserve area. I invite everyone to come here and see close-up one of the world’s most important heritage sites and its prehistoric finds.” The unique 'Ubeidiya site parallels the East African Olduvai Gorge sites, known as the “Cradle of Civilization”, explain Prof. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa, and Prof. Miriam Belmaker from the University of Tulsa. “'Ubeidiya has thirty geologic layers containing evidence of human activity, of which the earliest is dated to 1.5 million years ago. The site’s geology is most important for telling us about conditions on earth between 1-2 million years ago. During this period, in our region there was a lot of volcanic activity, while at the very same time the Syro-African Rift was widening and deepening.” Since the area uplifted and became sloped due to later tectonic movements, most of the layers lie exposed. This facilitates a journey through time going back over one million years. “Excellent preservation of the site’s material finds enables recreating the Jordan Valley’s early ecological conditions,” say the scholars. “There is a unique broad selection of species to be found here, of which most are extinct, and which includes African fauna side-by-side with European species. The flint and stone tools at 'Ubeidiya served its denizens to execute daily activities – butchering and cutting animal carcasses, processing vegetal foods and more. These represent the Acheulian culture, and among others include hand axes, scrapers, chopping tools, and spheroids and polyhedrons (stone balls).” Israel Antiquities Authority Director, Eli Escusido, said: “This is a red-letter day for prehistory. Every year the Israel Antiquities Authority develops tens of archaeological sites, making them accessible to the public. But 'Ubeidiya is unique: This is a prehistoric site of inestimable scientific importance for researching the beginnings of the human race".