Underwater Archaeology in Israel

Article: Israel is a pioneer in underwater archaeology. Recently, underwater archaeologists discovered the preserved remains of a prehistoric village submerged off the coast of Haifa! They found a water well that may be the oldest wooden structure ever found and the oldest evidence of a prehistoric ancient olive-oil industry from the New Stone Age, over 7000 years ago. It was found buried under 100 meters of sand. Scientists think that 6 Neolithic villages near Haifa became submerged as the sea level rose, possibly as the result of icecaps and glaciers melting massively (i.e., climate change). They have also discovered 9000 year old stone wells, stone basins used for crushing olives, and thousands of olive pits. The scientists think the people in the village lived until the age of 50 (a long time, at that time) because of their healthy Mediterranean diet. There is also evidence of human diseases in discovered bones such as malaria and tuberculosis!

What do you think are the challenges faced by doing archaeology underwater? How do you look for ancient artifacts in the sea? See here for pictures.