Bones in the Synagogue, Part II

So, they're animal bones. Peter Middleton, the archaeological team lead from last summer, made a quick onsite visit to check them out for me. He assured me, much to the disappointment of the mystery fans on staff, that the bones were from slaughtered poultry and beef. The worker who found the bones told me that the soil was ashy, which Peter says may indicate that it was once the location of a trash bin or pile. It is also possible that rats may have carried the bones from the actual trash pile, but given the size of the beef bones, that seems at least somewhat unlikely.

As an interesting side note, when human remains are found, all work must immediately stop, and medical investigators and the police must be called in. For some reason, lamb bones often fool investigators.

the bones themselves

where the bones were found

Photos taken by Berkley Kilgore.