Amud Cave is located in Nahal Amud; close to the rock pillar after which the stream is named. The cave was excavated by a Japanese delegation in 1961 and 1964. The excavations were resumed in 1990 by a joint Israeli-American team that included archaeologists and anthropologists. Two main strata have been identified at the site: one begins around 3000 BCE; characterized by numerous potsherds; stone vessels, and rubbish pits. And the other strata from the Middle Paleolithic period date back to about 55,000–68,000 years before our time. Dating to the Middle Paleolithic period.
Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Yael Y
Amud Cave: Archaeological Finds
But the most important find from this site is Amud 1. In other words, a skeleton was discovered in a cave in 1961. The skeleton is found in the later strata of the Middle Paleolithic period. The skeleton was identified as a Neanderthal male adult male. Its height was 1.7 meters, and its brain box volume was 1,750 cc. The skeleton lay in an articulation lying on its left side in a contracted position. The skeleton was dated to the end of the Middle Paleolithic period, about 50,000 – 60,000 years before our time.
Near Amud cave, there is another called the Skull Cave; Flinders Travelville-Peter carried out the first prehistoric excavation in Israel in 1925. This excavation uncovered the first ancient human skull found in the entire Middle East and was formerly known as the “Galilean Man.” This person probably belongs to the Ashlo-Yibrod culture from the Lower Paleolithic period. Later remains from the Late Paleolithic period and the Epipaleolithic period, was discovered in the nearby Amira Cave. Other caves excavated are the Pillar Cave and the Shuvach Cave (north of the pillar). Remains from the Middle Paleolithic period, belonging to the Mousterian culture, were found in these caves. On my private tours of the Galilee region, I take my guests to see the famous cave.
