An astounding video clip was put online, in which one sees a Hartebeest antelope running over a trail biker.
How does this connect to Tell es-Safi/Gath? Just two weeks ago, Liora Horwitz, our zooarchaeologist, while going over bones from the LB and Iron I levels at Safi, came upon some Hartebeest bones (Alcelaphus buselaphus). This species, which is not found in Israel nowadays, is already relatively well-known from archaeological sites in Israel. Interestingly, most recently, Z. Amar et al. (in JHS 10 [2010]) suggested that the Hartebeest should be identified with the biblical יחמור – which in the past was usually identified as the Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica).
For the fantastic clip (which tells you always to look to your sides when bike riding), see:
Aren
