Scientists to extract 500,000 year-old treasures from dead sea

Israeli scientists are drilling the murky depths of the Dead Sea in hopes of finding scientific treasures hidden in 500,000 years worth of mud and sediment.

The lowest place on earth at 1,385 feet below the sea level should answer scientific questions in various fields ranging from geology to archaeology and could lead to new insight into climate change.

Researchers say the core that will be pulled out from 1,640 feet (500 meters) below the seabed could open the door to years of research as every stratum could inspire a new hypothesis.

Ulrich Harms, the German scientist heads the International Continental Drilling Program and he is also a major funder of the project.

The dead sea would be a perfect archive of droughts and floods, of changing climate over a long time span.

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

For more interesting topics related to archaeology, visit archaeology excavations.