IMAGE: Fossilised Squalicorax tooth Nr. # 07815 from the Jerusalem website.
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Credit: Omri Lernau.

Scientists have found an unexplained cache of fossilised shark teeth in an area where there ought to be none – in a 2900 year old site in the City of David in Jerusalem. The teeth were found buried in product used to fill in a basement before conversion to a big Iron-Age house. Typically archaeological material is dated according to the situations where it is discovered, and so at very first it was presumed that the teeth were contemporary with the rest of the discover.” We had actually at first assumed that the shark teeth were remains of the food dumped almost 3000 years back, however when we submitted a paper for publication, one of the reviewers pointed out that the one of the teeth could just have come from a Late Cretaceous shark that had actually been extinct for at least 66 million years. That sent us back to the samples, where determining natural matter, elemental composition, and the crystallinity of the teeth validated that indeed all shark teeth were fossils.

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Researchers have actually discovered an unexplained cache of fossilised shark teeth in a location where there should be none – in a 2900 years of age site in the City of David in Jerusalem. This is at least 80 km from where these fossils would be expected to be discovered. There is no conclusive evidence of why the cache was put together, but it may be that the 80 million-year-old teeth became part of a collection, dating from simply after the death of King Solomon *. The same team has actually now discovered similar unusual finds in other parts of ancient Judea.
Providing the work at the Goldschmidt Conference, lead researcher, Dr. Thomas Tuetken (University of Mainz, Institute of Geosciences) stated:.
” These fossils are not in their initial setting, so they have been moved. They were probably valuable to someone; we simply do not understand why, or why comparable products have been found in more than one location in Israel”.
The teeth were discovered buried in material utilized to fill in a basement prior to conversion to a large Iron-Age house. The house itself was located in the City of David, one of the oldest parts of Jerusalem, found nowadays in the mainly Palestinian town of Silwan. Usually historical product is dated according to the scenarios where it is discovered, and so at first it was presumed that the teeth were modern with the rest of the find.
” We had at very first assumed that the shark teeth were remains of the food disposed nearly 3000 years ago, but when we sent a paper for publication, one of the reviewers pointed out that the one of the teeth could just have come from a Late Cretaceous shark that had actually been extinct for at least 66 million years. That sent us back to the samples, where determining natural matter, elemental structure, and the crystallinity of the teeth validated that indeed all shark teeth were fossils.
Since the first discovers, the group have found other shark teeth fossils elsewhere in Israel, at the Maresha and Miqne websites. These teeth are likewise most likely to have been discovered and moved from their original sites.
Dr. Tuetken stated:.
” Our working hypothesis is that the teeth were brought together by collectors, however we dont have anything to validate that. There are no wear marks which may show that they were utilized as tools, and no drill holes to suggest that they might have been jewellery. We understand that there is a market for sharks teeth even today, so it might be that there was an Iron Age pattern for collecting such items. This was a duration of riches in the Judean Court. However, its too easy to put 2 and 2 together to make 5. Well probably never ever truly be sure”.
The shark teeth which have been recognized come from numerous species, including from the extinct Late Cretaceous group Squalicorax. Squalicorax, which grew to in between 2 and 5 metres long, lived only during the Late Cretaceous duration (which was the very same period as the late dinosaurs), so functions as a recommendation point in dating these fossils.
Commenting, Dr. Brooke Crowley (University of Cincinnati) said:.
” This research study by Dr. Tuetken and associates is an excellent example of why it is so essential to approach a research question with as few assumptions as possible, and how in some cases we need to revisit our initial presumptions. It also highlights how beneficial it can be to apply numerous tools to address a research study question. In this case, the authors utilized both strontium and oxygen isotopes, along with x-ray diffraction and micronutrient analysis to develop more than likely age and origin of the fossil teeth. It was a significant of work but these efforts have actually revealed a far more interesting story about individuals who lived in this area in the past. I am very thrilled by this work and hope that one day, we might be able to decipher the mystery of why these fossil teeth are being recovered from cultural deposits”.
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Dr. Crowley was not included in this work. The work relating to the Jerusalem discovers has been released in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8:570032 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.570032), Dr. Crowley modified this paper for the journal. This press release consists of extra material not mentioned in the publication.
Notes.
This work exists on 6th July, but is being released to the press early.
* The find dates from the time of the instant descendants of King Solomon; Rehoboam, Abija, Assa, and Jehoshapat.
The Goldschmidt Conference is the Worlds main geochemistry conference. It is hosted alternately by the European Association of Geochemistry (Europe) and the Geochemical Society (USA). The 2021 conference (virtual) takes location from 4-9 July, https://2021.goldschmidt.info/. The 2022 conference takes location in Hawaii.