Images: Uncovering a Stone-Age Well

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Stone Age Well

Archaeologist goes down Jezreel well

(Image credit: Yotam Tepper, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

Archaeologists excavate an 8,500-year-old well found in Israel's Jezreel Valley. Among other artifacts, two skeletons were found resting at the bottom of the well.

Well Skeletons

Skull from an Israel well

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

A skull exposed during the excavation of an 8,500-year-old well in Israel. Archaeologists don't know how two people ended up at the bottom of the well.

Emek, Israel

Emek, Israel in Jezreel Valley.

(Image credit: pozzu | Shutterstock)

A view of Emek, Israel, in the western part of the Jezreel Valley.

Mount Tabor

Mount Tabor in Jezreel Valley in Israel

(Image credit: Yosefer | Shutterstock)

A view of Mount Tabor ("Har Tavor" in Hebrew) rising 1,640 feet (500 meters) above the Jezreel Valley in the region of Galilee. Tabor is located on the eastern end of Jezreel Valley, while the remains were found on the western fringes.

Climbing Down a Well

Archaeologist goes down Jezreel well

(Image credit: Yotam Tepper, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

An Israel Antiquities Authority worker descends into the Stone Age well.

Stone Age Well

Stone Age well

(Image credit: Yotam Tepper, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

The well was built by Neolithic farmers and is about 1,000 years younger than the oldest wells ever discovered.

Cramped Archaology

Jezreel Well in Israel

(Image credit: Yotam Tepper, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

Conducting archaeology in the well is a cramped endeavor.

Stone Tools

Flint tools from Jezreel well.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

Flint tools found in the sediments that filled the well after it was closed.

Flint Tools

Flint tools from Jezreel well.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

These flint tools may have been used for harvesting plants, Israeli Antiquities researchers said.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.