This ancient copper “fishhook” is the earliest of its type ever discovered in Israel. But this hook wasn’t used for hauling up inshore tiddlers, rather, it was designed for hunting huge sharks off Israel’s coast some 6,000 years ago.

The rare copper fishing hook was unearthed at a new village site near Ashkelon, a coastal city around 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) from the sea, located about 50 kilometers (31.07 mi) south of Tel Aviv, in southern Israel. Evidence of human settlement in this area dates back to the Neolithic period, around 6,000 BC, and during the Bronze Age the city was inhabited by the Canaanites, who were later conquered by the Philistines.

See Also:

TikTok: America’s Do-Or-Die moment with China – Analysis

According to the researchers who uncovered and studied the large copper fishing hook, it was found in 2018 in a previously unknown ancient village beneath the city of Ashkelon. The fishhook represents “one of the first of its kind” to have been made in the region, and its discovery confirms that “ shark meat was most likely on the menu” around 6,000 years ago in what is today Israel.

Read more: Ancient Origins