Courtesy Ephraim Stern

Bone of contention. Scholars disagree as to the function of this fragmentary cow scapula, or shoulder blade, which is incised with short parallel lines of unknown meaning. Found in the Sikil occupation level (1150–1050 B.C.E.), it resembles five other incised scapulas discovered in a Philistine temple in Tel Miqne (Ekron) and many others from Cyprus. Although some scholars believe these scapulas were pieces of a musical instrument, the Ekron examples suggest to other scholars that they probably served a cultic purpose.