Analysis of Fingerprints Using the AFIS on Clay Candles During Excavations of Motza

Nora Rajs, Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS), Latent and Comparison Fingerprint Laboratories, Jerusalem, Israel
Ido Hefetz , Division Of Identification And Forensic Science (difs), Latent And Comparison Fingerprint Laboratories, Jerusalem, Israel
Shulamit Terem, Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquity Authority , Jerusalem, Israel
Uzi Ad , Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquity Authority , Jerusalem, Israel

In a joint project of the Division of Identification and Forensic Science, Israel Police with the Israel Antiquity Authority, while performing excavations during the construction of the new entrance road to Jerusalem in 2019–2020, a pottery workshop and two kilns from the Byzantine era were discovered. In the vicinity, many clay pottery vessels were discovered with fingerprints on them. By closely examining the fingerprints that were found, it was possible to evaluate the amount of people involved in the process of creating the pottery, how many excavation loci they worked at, what the method of production was, and what typical fingerprint patterns the manufacturers were featured with.