Ancient Ritual Uncovered: Four Donkeys Buried 4,500 Years Ago Beneath Canaanite Ruins Spark Chilling Mysteries
Imagine stumbling upon four donkeys buried beneath an ancient home—three with their legs bound, and the fourth, well, decapitated with its head neatly placed on its belly. No, this isn’t the setup for a dark joke but a genuine archaeological find from the Canaanite city of Gath in present-day Israel. These aren’t just any donkeys though—they hailed all the way from Egypt around 4,500 years ago and were ritually sacrificed, possibly in a bid for prosperity or divine protection. It’s bizarre, it’s mysterious, and it begs the question—what kind of homeowner orders an exotic donkey sacrifice, and why donkeys of all creatures? Buckle up, because this is history served with a serious twist of the unexpected. LEARN MORE
Found in the ancient Canaanite city of Gath, located in Tell es-Sâfi, Israel, three of the donkeys were found with their legs bound and the fourth was decapitated with its head placed on its abdomen.
Arnold et al., 2025, PLOS OneThough researchers believe they may have been killed to gain prosperity or divine protection, the full story behind this grisly find remains shrouded in mystery.
Archaeologists working in the ancient Canaanite city of Gath in Tell es-Sâfi, Israel recently made a curious find when they discovered four female donkeys buried beneath a house. The donkeys appear to have come from Egypt and experts believe that they were ritualistically sacrificed some 4,500 years ago.
Many questions about this presumed donkey sacrifice still remain, but researchers suspect that the donkeys were killed and carefully buried to bring good fortune to the house’s owners.
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