Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,023
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
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Industrial apiculture in the Jordan valley during Biblical times with Anatolian honeybees
A research 2010
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/25/11240.full
Tel Reov is one of the largest Iron Age sites in Israel. A city 10 ha in area flourished there between the 12th and 9th centuries Before Common Era (B.C.E.). The apiary includes ≈30 hives (of 100–200 estimated) that were made as unfired clay cylinders. The hives have a small hole on one side for the bees to enter and exit and a lid on the opposite side for the beekeepers to access the honeycomb (Fig. S1 B–D). Three rows of such hives were located in a courtyard that was part of a large architectural complex that was severely destroyed, most probably at the end of the 10th or beginning of the 9th centuries B.C.E. (Fig. S1D) (4–6). In terms of Biblical historiography, this period corresponds with the United Monarchy of David and Solomon and the beginning of the kingdom of northern Israel. The location of such a large apiary in the middle of a dense urban area is puzzling because bees can be very aggressive, especially during routine beekeeping practices or honey harvesting. It is conjectured that this location was dictated by the need to protect the valuable hives
Our discoveries indicate that bees were kept in Israel during Biblical times and that beekeeping was much more sophisticated 3,000 years ago than previously appreciated. The evidence that the honeybees at Tel Reov are not the local subspecies raises the possibility that the influence of human activities on honeybee distribution already was significant in ancient times.
Industrial apiculture in the Jordan valley during Biblical times with Anatolian honeybees
A research 2010
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/25/11240.full
Tel Reov is one of the largest Iron Age sites in Israel. A city 10 ha in area flourished there between the 12th and 9th centuries Before Common Era (B.C.E.). The apiary includes ≈30 hives (of 100–200 estimated) that were made as unfired clay cylinders. The hives have a small hole on one side for the bees to enter and exit and a lid on the opposite side for the beekeepers to access the honeycomb (Fig. S1 B–D). Three rows of such hives were located in a courtyard that was part of a large architectural complex that was severely destroyed, most probably at the end of the 10th or beginning of the 9th centuries B.C.E. (Fig. S1D) (4–6). In terms of Biblical historiography, this period corresponds with the United Monarchy of David and Solomon and the beginning of the kingdom of northern Israel. The location of such a large apiary in the middle of a dense urban area is puzzling because bees can be very aggressive, especially during routine beekeeping practices or honey harvesting. It is conjectured that this location was dictated by the need to protect the valuable hives
Our discoveries indicate that bees were kept in Israel during Biblical times and that beekeeping was much more sophisticated 3,000 years ago than previously appreciated. The evidence that the honeybees at Tel Reov are not the local subspecies raises the possibility that the influence of human activities on honeybee distribution already was significant in ancient times.
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