Corals in the Desert

Abstract

Corals comprised valuable resources throughout human history and were used as remedies for multiple diseases and as amulets. Despite their traditional, historical uses, corals are not frequently encountered in the archaeological record. Recent archaeological excavations in the Negev Desert have yielded an unprecedented number of Red Sea coral remains, found in the landfills of Byzantine and Early Islamic sites located more than 200 km from the Red Sea. The bulk of the assemblage comprises primarily the tree-like branching Stylophora pistillata. Other species found include the columnar coral Favites abdita. Both are among the most common shallow water corals in the Red Sea. Their remains attest to the importance of corals for Negev society, as well as to the cultural trajectory of goods and their trade and commerce that facilitated the supply of Red Sea products to distant inland locations.