Hedgehog helps find 1,400-year-old lamp in Israel

Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a 14-century-old lamp thanks to a hedgehog who dug a grave in an archaeological site in central Israel, the official said on Wednesday.

Archaeologists, who were routinely inspecting the antiquity theft on Horbat Siv, noticed a hill near a hedgehog's lair. They found an ancient 14-century-old intact ceramic lamp rescued by the animal.

"The hedgehog is an excellent archaeologist who can dig in an incomparable way, " Ira Horovitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement posted on the agency's website.

"Because the country is full of archaeological sites, hedgehogs build their shelters among the underground ruins. They get rid of the rubble with skill and bring out what they find, including all kinds of archaeological objects, " he added.

The government has not missed a chance to joke about the discovery: "We remind all the hedgehogs that digging into archaeological sites without permission is a crime, " joked Horovitz.

Jerusalem, Undefined

Via InAbstract