Summary: Large copper fish hook, discovered in Ashkelon, may be the oldest fishing hook ever found and was used to catch big fish like sharks and tuna.
For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation…. – Zephaniah 2:4 (ESV)
Giant Copper Fish Hook for Catching Sharks
The world’s earliest known copper fish hook, believed to be used for catching sharks and other large fish, was found during excavations in Ashkelon, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently announced. The discovery was made in 2018, prior to the construction of the Agamim neighborhood, but was just recently presented to the public during the 48th Archeological Congress in April, 2023.
Ashkelon is located in southern Israel on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It was one of the oldest and largest seaports in Canaan during biblical times. The book of Joshua and 1 Samuel record that Ashkelon was one of the five major cities of the Philistines and the book of Judges says that Samson killed 30 men there. Discovering this unique fish hook helps bring the Bible to life, enabling us to better envision the real lives of the people who lived there so long ago.
“This unique find is 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) long and 4 cm (1.5 inches) wide, its large dimensions making it suitable for hunting 2–3 m (6 – 10 feet) long sharks or large tuna fish. More ancient fish hooks found previously were made of bone and were much smaller than this one,” said IAA’s Dr. Yael Abadi-Reiss and Dr. Daniel Varga, co-directors of the dig.
Size and age aside, the location where the hook was found is remarkable as well. Abadi-Reiss called the find “luck, pure luck” because the hook wasn’t discovered at some proposed ancient pier or by itself but in an early residential area, which helped date it. All the finds were from the same Chalcolithic period or copper era, dated to roughly 4,000 BC according to the standard timeline. Nothing remotely like it has ever been found before.
“The use of copper began in the Chalcolithic period and it is fascinating to discover that this technological innovation was applied in antiquity for the production of fish hooks for fishermen along the Mediterranean coast,” Abadi-Reiss explained.
Remarkable Preservation
Most copper fish hooks in antiquity would have already corroded to nothing. “It was so big and beautiful that we thought it might be from another period,” Abadi-Reiss said. The amazing preservation of the “unique and unusual” hook made it hard for Abadi-Reiss to believe it was authentic, until excavators showed her where it was unearthed and lab tests confirmed that it was made of copper from that era.
The hook had turned green, as happens to copper when it weathers, (think Statue of Liberty). “It’s so big that even though its external coating was damaged, a lot remained,” Abadi-Reiss said. She attributes the hook’s remarkable preservation to the microenvironment where it was found.
The Chalcolithic village of Ashkelon was next to a seasonal lake that floods every winter. Fortunately, the hook was safe in a relatively dry part inside a house built next to the floodplain. With very dry summers in the area the conditions were just right for it to last.
Copper Production Site
The hook wasn’t the only copper item found in the village. Researchers found many others and just outside the village they discovered an area for copper metallurgy, where the fishhook was likely created. The archeologists deduced there must have been two separate copper smelting sites because the objects discovered were made with different types of copper, some from pure copper and some from alloyed copper.
The people of Ashkelon made all sorts of tools. They continued to use stone tools along with metal ones, which were a type of luxury item. Axes, scrapers and such were still made of flint during the copper and iron ages.
Ashkelon’s History
Previously, archaeologists were aware of some Byzantine and Roman agricultural structures on the site. Ashkelon had been an agricultural hub during the first to seventh century, where many people brought items such as wine and olive oil to export throughout the Mediterranean basin. But archaeologists were unaware of the even older Chalcolithic era village underneath the site, until the investigation prior to the construction of the new neighborhood.
The site, located some 2.5 miles from the coast, had been densely occupied during the Chalcolithic era. People lived there for at least 600 years in homes that were clustered around three large stone buildings, most likely religious structures, Abadi-Reiss explained.
The early inhabitants diet was determined by information gathered “from the remains of animal bones found in ancient rubbish pits, from burnt wheat grains found in ovens, and from the hunting, cooking and food-processing tools retrieved, including flint sickles, and a variety of pottery vessels that served for storage, cooking and the conservation of food by fermentation and salting,” said Abadi-Reiss.
“Most of the evidence we found was that they had livestock there, they ate bread and olive oil and hummus and lentils,” she added. The people farmed crops like wheat, barley, legumes and fruit orchards and reared livestock such as sheep, goats and cattle.
“But we also see that they knew how to fish, not only in shallow waters. They knew how to go into deep waters and had the equipment [for larger fish or sharks].”
The village was large enough to support more than just the people practicing agriculture. There were also specialists in things like metallurgy, according to Abadi-Reiss. “Copper was the new innovation of the era… it’s the first time ever that people [were] using metallurgy to create tools.”
“Everyday life was really agricultural, but from time to time, I imagine all the young men organized together, maybe talking about it for weeks beforehand, to go to the sea,” she added. Archaeologists do not believe that fishing was a large part of daily life because there are few fishbones in the refuse areas and analysis of ceramic vessels did not reveal any remnants of fish. Catching and eating sharks was probably an infrequent but special occasion.
Ashkelon and the Bible
Ashkelon has a fascinating history, not only of copper and fishing, but from the Bible. It is mentioned in six Old Testament books and was one of the major cities controlled by the Philistines in the southwestern part of Canaan (Joshua 13:3).
Throughout history, because of its prime coastal location, Ashkelon has been ruled by the Egyptians, Canaanites, Assyrians, Greeks, Philistines, Israelites and more. The seaport was highly desirable for trade and military staging.
When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Ashkelon was given to the tribe of Judah as an inheritance. According to Judges 1:18, “Judah captured Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory.” Judah claimed the land but it was dominated by the Philistines for many years. Contention between the Israelites and the Philistines is a common theme in the Old Testament, and Ashkelon was a place of many conflicts.
The book of Judges gives the account of the famous, hot-headed, Israelite judge Samson, who killed 30 Philistine men in Ashkelon after being cheated by his wedding guests, when they had threatened his bride to get the answer to Samson’s riddle about the lion and the honey (Judges 14:17-19).
And [Samson] went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. – Judges 14:19b
The book of Zephaniah records the prophecy of the minor prophet that the city would someday be turned into pastureland (Zeph. 2:4,7). Other places in the Bible where Ashkelon is mentioned are Jeremiah 25:20, 47:5-7; Amos 1:8 and Zechariah 9:3-5.
The Philistines were finally driven out in 734 BC when Assyria moved in and after that, ownership of the city still kept changing. The Greeks, Maccabees, Romans, Muslims and Crusaders all claimed it at different times.
Eventually after the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49, the city was formally given to Israel. Some see this as a fulfillment of Zephaniah’s prophecy that Ashkelon would eventually be a peaceful place belonging to Judah.
“The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.
That land will belong
to the remnant of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes” – Zephaniah 2:6-7
Conclusion
Once again archeological finds add tangible evidence to biblical history, this time to the ancient city of Ashkelon, adding further evidence to the Bible’s reliability. “The rare fish hook tells the story of the village fishermen who sailed out to sea in their boats and cast the newly invented copper fish hook into the water, hoping to add coastal sharks to the menu,” explained Abadi-Reiss.
Research on the copper fish hook is being undertaken by Yotam Asscher and Magda Batiashvili of the IAA. Thanks to advanced technologies available to contemporary scholars, fresh insights into this intriguing artifact are now possible, answering questions that were once beyond reach.
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: A copper fishhook discovered in Ashkelon in 2018 was likely used to hunt sharks, in this photo from the Israel Antiquities Authority on March 29, 2023. (credit: Emil Aladjem/IAA)
