It may look like an unremarkable pile of rocks in the middle of an inhospitable Israeli desert. But archaeologists have discovered that this primitive structure is in fact a 5,000-year-old trap used to capture leopards. They had originally thought that the trap was much younger, and the revelation of its true age suggests that farmers in the area were much more advanced that originally thought. Ancient: The trap is designed to lure leopards in through the front with some bait, before slamming shut behind it . The trap was found in the Negev desert in the south of Israel by researchers from the Geological Survey of Israel, according to Live Science. It was not far from a similar example, which is little more than 1,600 years old. This led scientists to believe that the much more ancient trap was of a similar age. But a sophisticated test which can age materials based on how much residual radiation they have absorbed over thousands of years showed that these slabs had been in place some 2,000 years before the foundation of Rome. At least 50 similar traps have been . found in the Negev region, but this is the first one to suggest the . extreme age of this construction, which is as old as the world's . earliest farming civilisations. The enduring piece of technology is almost identical to traps used by the nomadic Bedouin peoples as recently as a century ago. Subtle: The trap, seen here from behind, was found in the Negev desert in Israel . Naomi Porta, who co-authored a study on the trap, said: 'The most exciting thing is the antiquity of these carnivore traps, which is totally unexpected. 'They look like a pile of stones, like a cairn, and you need a good eye and also some digging around to realize what it is. 'When the carnivore pulls at the bait the . rope is attached to a slab door [made of solid rock] and it just closes, so the animal is . trapped inside this carnivore box trap. Prey: Leopards were a major predator in the area when ancient peoples were laying the traps . 'This is part of their defense system against the elements, which in this case is leopards and other carnivores.' The tests which proved the age of the traps were carried out using a technique called 'optical dating'. The ancient trap uses simple but effective technology to capture its prey. Not unlike a classic mouse trap, the leopard snare uses tempting food - usually a chunk of raw meat - to lure in the animal. The food would be attached to a rope, and then the animal pulls on it to get at the prize attached, the force from the rope would cause the door - a heavy stone slab - to slam shut. The animal would then be stuck inside, left helpless while the ancient farmers who laid the trap figured out how to dispose of the dangerous predator. The traps would help deal with the problem of leopards attacking the flocks of sheep and goats which were so vital to the nomads' survival at the time. It can be used to determine how long it has been since a material was exposed to sunlight - in this case it would have shown how long the underside of the trap had been shielded since being built. A machine can be used to measure how much radioactive energy which materials absorb other thousands of years in the shade, but is released when touched by sunlight. By comparing this with background levels of radiation in the area, a date for the trap could be calculated. Although referred to as a leopard trap, the structure could also be used to capture other predators, such as foxes, hyenas and wolves. They would have been an essential method for ancient farmers to keep the hungry hunters away from the sheep and goats they raised for milk, clothing and good. Ms Porat and her team found the traps not far from an area known to have been used as farmland as long as 6,000 years ago. The traps would be of little use now, as leopards have been extinct in the Negev region for the past ten years. The findings were published in the September . issue of the journal Antiquity.
The trap was found in the Negev region of southern Israel .
It lured leopards inside with a chunk of meat before slamming shut .
Researchers originally thought it was only 1,600 years old .
But radiation tests showed it had been there for five millennia .
This means ancient farmers in the area were more sophisticated than previously thought .
It may look like an unremarkable pile of rocks in the middle of an inhospitable Israeli desert. But archaeologists have discovered that this primitive structure is in fact a 5,000-year-old trap used to capture leopards. They had originally thought that the trap was much younger, and the revelation of its true age suggests that farmers in the area were much more advanced that originally thought. Ancient: The trap is designed to lure leopards in through the front with some bait, before slamming shut behind it . The trap was found in the Negev desert in the south of Israel by researchers from the Geological Survey of Israel, according to Live Science. It was not far from a similar example, which is little more than 1,600 years old. This led scientists to believe that the much more ancient trap was of a similar age. But a sophisticated test which can age materials based on how much residual radiation they have absorbed over thousands of years showed that these slabs had been in place some 2,000 years before the foundation of Rome. At least 50 similar traps have been . found in the Negev region, but this is the first one to suggest the . extreme age of this construction, which is as old as the world's . earliest farming civilisations. The enduring piece of technology is almost identical to traps used by the nomadic Bedouin peoples as recently as a century ago. Subtle: The trap, seen here from behind, was found in the Negev desert in Israel . Naomi Porta, who co-authored a study on the trap, said: 'The most exciting thing is the antiquity of these carnivore traps, which is totally unexpected. 'They look like a pile of stones, like a cairn, and you need a good eye and also some digging around to realize what it is. 'When the carnivore pulls at the bait the . rope is attached to a slab door [made of solid rock] and it just closes, so the animal is . trapped inside this carnivore box trap. Prey: Leopards were a major predator in the area when ancient peoples were laying the traps . 'This is part of their defense system against the elements, which in this case is leopards and other carnivores.' The tests which proved the age of the traps were carried out using a technique called 'optical dating'. The ancient trap uses simple but effective technology to capture its prey. Not unlike a classic mouse trap, the leopard snare uses tempting food - usually a chunk of raw meat - to lure in the animal. The food would be attached to a rope, and then the animal pulls on it to get at the prize attached, the force from the rope would cause the door - a heavy stone slab - to slam shut. The animal would then be stuck inside, left helpless while the ancient farmers who laid the trap figured out how to dispose of the dangerous predator. The traps would help deal with the problem of leopards attacking the flocks of sheep and goats which were so vital to the nomads' survival at the time. It can be used to determine how long it has been since a material was exposed to sunlight - in this case it would have shown how long the underside of the trap had been shielded since being built. A machine can be used to measure how much radioactive energy which materials absorb other thousands of years in the shade, but is released when touched by sunlight. By comparing this with background levels of radiation in the area, a date for the trap could be calculated. Although referred to as a leopard trap, the structure could also be used to capture other predators, such as foxes, hyenas and wolves. They would have been an essential method for ancient farmers to keep the hungry hunters away from the sheep and goats they raised for milk, clothing and good. Ms Porat and her team found the traps not far from an area known to have been used as farmland as long as 6,000 years ago. The traps would be of little use now, as leopards have been extinct in the Negev region for the past ten years. The findings were published in the September . issue of the journal Antiquity.
originally thought that the trap was much suggests that farmers in the area were much more front with some bait, before slamming shut behind it . The trap was found in the Negev desert in which is little more than 1,600 years old. This had been in place some 2,000 years before the uses tempting food - usually a chunk of raw meat extinct in the Negev region for the past ten