We report the results of underwater archaeological investigations at the submerged Neolithic settlement of Tel Hreiz (7500 – 7000 BP), off the Carmel coast of Israel. The underwater archaeological site has yielded well-preserved architectural, artefactual, faunal and human remains. We examine and discuss the notable recent discovery of a linear, boulder-built feature >100m long, located seaward of the settlement. Based on archaeological context, mode of construction and radiometric dating, we demonstrate the feature was contemporary with the inundated Neolithic settlement and conclude that it served as a seawall, built to protect the village against Mediterranean Sea-level rise. The seawall is unique for the period and is the oldest known coastal defence worldwide. Its length, use of large non-local boulders and specific arrangement in the landscape reflect the extensive effort invested by the Neolithic villagers in its conception, organisation and construction. However, this distinct social action and display of resilience proved a temporary solution and ultimately the village was inundated and abandoned.

The first exploited and domesticated olive forms are still unknown. The exceptionally well-preserved stones from the submerged Hishuley Carmel site (Israel), dating from the middle of the 7th millennium BP, offer us the opportunity to study the oldest table olives discovered so far. We apply a geometrical morphometric analysis in reference to a collection of modern stones from supposed wild populations and traditional varieties of various origins, genetic lineages and uses. Analyses carried out on modern material allow the characterization of the extent of stone morphological variation in the olive tree and the differentiation of distinct morphotypes. They also allow to discuss the status of supposed wild populations and the divergence between groups of varieties and their wild progenitors, interpreted from evolutionary and biogeographical perspectives. The shape of archaeological stones compared to the differentiation model unveils morphological traits of olives most likely belonging to both wild olive trees and domesticated forms, with some of them showing a notable domestication syndrome. These forms at the early stages of domestication, some of which are surprisingly morphologically close to modern varieties, were probably used for dual use (production of olive oil and table olives), and possibly contributed to the dispersion of the olive tree throughout the Mediterranean Basin and to its subsequent diversification.

We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7^thmillennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared. This process was most probably facilitated by the site’s proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which served as a source of both sea water and salt required for debittering/pickling/salting the fruit, as experimentally demonstrated in this study. Comparison of pit morphometry from modern cultivars, wild-growing trees and the archaeological sites, intimates that in pit morphology the ancient pits resemble wild olives, but we cannot totally exclude the possibility that they derive from early cultivated trees. Our findings demonstrate that in this region, olive oil production may have predated table olive preparation, with each development serving as a milestone in the early exploitation of the olive.

Inundated archaeological sites dating from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Pottery Neolithic periods have been exposed off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, mainly the northern Carmel coast. The bulk of the sites represents in situ Neolithic settlements dating from the tenth to the seventh millennia BP, including the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Atlit-Yam and the Pottery Neolithic sites of Kfar Samir, Kfar Galim, Tel Hreiz and Neve-Yam. These are some of the best-preserved underwater settlements in the world with excellent preservation of human and animal remains, plant materials used as food and animal fodder, basketry, wood used in building construction and for making bowls and a wide range of flint, bone and ground-stone artefacts. The sites include rectangular stone dwellings, the earliest known stone-built water wells in the world, megalithic structures of probable ritual significance, numerous human burials, many in stone-lined graves or cists, and reveal details of village layout including a separation between domestic and graveyard areas. The human remains provide pathological evidence for the earliest known case of tuberculosis and for malarial infection. These settlements are the earliest known examples of the typical Mediterranean fishing village, with a subsistence economy based on crop cultivation, domestic animals, some hunting of wild animals, a significant emphasis on marine fishing and the earliest known evidence for the production of olive oil. This combination of resources contributed to the establishment of year-round sedentary, Mediterranean fishing villages. These features owe their preservation and discovery to the location of the settlements on the shoreline. Rising sea level eventually forced their abandonment and sealed the remains in anaerobic conditions under a protective cover of marine sand, until recent disturbance by storms and sand-mining exposed parts of the submerged ancient land surface to archaeological discovery.

Résumé : Des fouilles de sauvetage et des observations de terrain à Neve-Yam, un village de la culture Wadi Rabah (Néolithique céramique, 2nde moitié du VIIIe millénaire cal. BP), submergé de la côte du Carmel, ont révélé des tombes en pierre aux caractéristiques particulières. Elles étaient concentrées dans un secteur spécifique du site, voué aux rituels funéraires. Il n’y avait pas d’habitations dans cette partie destinée aux inhumations, et aucune tombe n’a été trouvée dans la zone d’habitation. Les tombes ovales, orientées est-ouest, étaient construites avec des pierres brutes et certaines étaient recouvertes par des dalles de pierre. Il s’agit de l’un des plus anciens villages néolithiques connus, où la séparation est évidente entre la zone d’habitation et la zone funéraire dans laquelle se trouvaient les tombes en pierre. Trois concentrations de graines brûlées dans la zone funéraire peuvent être associées à des activités rituelles. La séparation entre les vivants et les morts dans ce site du Néolithique céramique présente des différences notables avec des pratiques funéraires du Néolithique céramique antérieur et du Néolithique pré-céramique. Elle annonce les pratiques funéraires qui seront observées lors de la période suivante, au Ghassulien (Chalcolithique) qui commence au milieu du VIIe millénaire cal. BP, pendant laquelle les cimetières seront à l’écart des établissements.