Mystery of Atlit-Yam

Good morning, this time we are going to explore the mystery of a 9,000-year-old village that is hidden under the sea.  It is called the Mystery of Atlit-Yam. The run time for this documentary is 48:54.

In 1984, off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, Ehud Galili discovered a settlement that has been hidden under the sea for centuries.  The seas were the highways of the ancient world.  The seas covered this settlement.  As underwater digging went on, the biggest and best-preserved prehistoric site was discovered.  There were numerous houses, temples, altars, and tombs discovered.  This film documents the story of this settlement.

The episode starts with the exploration on land and then switches to the excavations underwater.  An unusual mound of stone was discovered at this site.  Ehud Galili made the discovery and was shocked at what he found.  He talks about his dives and talks about the discovery he made.  He talks about the desire to learn about the artifacts he found.  Much of his life has been spent making discoveries and recoveries on the sea.  The coast here is exposed and the storms carve up the area, shaping and exposing the new areas.

It was after one such storm that Galili made his discovery.  There was a strange rock formation at the bottom of the sea.  Who could have built that strange rock formation?  Who could have had the means?  Roman?  Arabs?  Phoenicians?  A few years earlier he had helped retrieve a bronze battering ram from a warship.  There was a trading post nearby which provided them with enough space to land their boats.  The site was found so far from shore.  The Knights Templar could have built it, however, could they have built it so far out in the sea?

However, during the first digs, they discovered that the site dated back to the stone age.  This site, submerged underwater is the most ancient ever found.  Perhaps this stone mound was a burial place?  Evidence disprove this theory, however, there were burials found on the site.  The first finds were the tip of the iceberg.  Over the years, more and more of the village was discovered.  The layer of sand is always on the move and the site is constantly changing. 

Underwater archelogy is a challenge and it takes preparation and a lot of equipment to dig.  People from all over the world come to the site to work on the site.  One group studied continental shelf.  For the major part of prehistory, parts of the continental shelf were above water.  However, when the ice melted these sites were plunged into the sea.  The finds here have helped expand the idea of underwater archeology.  Galili’s teams have moved a lot of sand to discover new finds.  They have to work slowly to make their discoveries.

Atlit-Yam is an archeologist’s dream (cue thoughts of Time Team).  A well was discovered and the well was twice as old as the pyramids.  It was the only example of its construction discovered so far.  It has been stuffed with carved objects and animal bones.  There was an area dedicated to flint making and over 8000 artifacts were identified.  These ranged from flint flakes to tools.  I bet Phil Harding would have a field day on the site.  Galili shows off the finds from the flint-making area.  Clay’s waterproofing ability is helping archeologists.

Additional to the flints, fish, fishing nets, and fishing equipment have been found on site.  The skeletons also hint at long hours in the boat.  There was flax fiber found at the site and this could be used in rope making.  Animal bones were also found including mice, sheep, goats, and other domesticated animals.  What else could be discovered about the site?  What could the finds tell us about the Stone Age?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more.

This was a pretty slow-moving documentary that had an old-school feel to it.  The narration of the series could have been better because it was rather stilted at times.  This documentary would have been better with a better narrator, such as Sir Tony Robinson.  Despite the narration, I found this documentary interesting and it provide some good information on what was going on in the Stone Age.  This would be a documentary to add to your potential list for showing in the classroom.