Strata Answers

In Biblical times salt was used in both household and ritual activities. It acted as a purifier and destroyer. In Judges 9:45 the Israelites scattered salt over a city they had destroyed. Scattering salt left the land

barren, ensuring that the city would never again be rebuilt. Both Leviticus 3:13 and Numbers 18:19 refer to the Israelites’ “covenant of salt” with the Lord; all sacrifices to

the Lord must be salted. Because it preserves, salt became a symbol of permanence in ancient times.

Nine of the Hebrew Bible’s 38 references are to the Dead Sea (called “the Salt Sea,” Yam

ha-Melech, in Hebrew).

This iron fishing fork, dating to about 665 A.D., was found during an underwater excavation of a shipwreck, led by Ehud

Galili and Baruch Rosen, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Dor, Israel. It is pictured as found. It is pictured after cleaning. (Scream from readers: “This is unfair!”)

Archaeologists believe that this fork was used in an ancient fishing technique known as “fire fishing.” This

involved suspending giant lanterns from the ends of the boat at night to attract fish and other creatures to the surface.

The fishermen would then spear the fish with a fork or trap them in a net. This technique is referred to in the writings of

Plato (Sophist, c. 360 B.C.). According to the IAA, this shipwreck is the first evidence of

“fire fishing” in the eastern Mediterranean.