The site known as “The bone-bearing beds of Bethlehem”, is located at the highest point of Bethlehem (~790 m above sea level), along the current national water divide. It was excavated at the beginning of the last century.
Due to its geographic position along the Levantine Corridor, the site of Bethlehem represents a focal locality along the exchange route between Eurasia and Africa. Thus, it calls for a revision of its fauna, flint items and site formation processes. By studying the unpublished archival sources, samples of the sediments, fauna and flint materials, we were able to relate individual elements to their original find descriptions and to reconstruct their positions in the pit. This led to tentative interpretations of the history of deposition and taphonomy of the “bone-bearing beds”.
Until recently, no other bone deposit similar to that of Bethlehem was known from the region, but the remains of caves have now been found in a similar geographic location near the water divide. The model of formation of these caves is similar, where a complex combination of a certain geological formation, collapses and water resulting in Hypogenic cave.
The particle size distribution and minerology of sediment samples from the excavation suggest a combination of eolian and fluvial transport. (U-Th)/He geochronology of detrital heavy minerals (Zircon and Sphene) within these sediments indicate that all the ages except one are older than the local bedrock suggesting that the sediment could have reached the site during the Senonian. A single young age may suggest that sediment deposition at Bethlehem site is <7 Ma. More age constraints are currently in process.
Revaluation of the flint implements from the site suggests that it is not an archaeological site despite presence of some artifacts.
Based on previous studies and the current preliminary geological and biostratigraphical considerations, we propose that the site is likely to be not younger than 3 Ma.