Israeli schoolchildren from the Modi’in area have discovered a 900-year-old collection of women’s jewelry at Givat Tittora, the site of an archaeological dig adjacent to the city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Modi’in municipality announced Tuesday. The students, 2,500 fourth to 12th graders from local communities, also discovered remains of ancient clay ovens (tabuns), cooking pots, jars, serving dishes, and a table in an ancient kitchen, as well as the remains of food items including olive pits, charred grape pips, and animal bones.

According to the IAA, the students found rings, bracelets, earrings and hairpins in what used to be the kitchen of a Crusader fortress.

“The students and volunteers from Modi?in [and nearby Maccabim-Re’ut] have exposed the inner courtyard of the fortress,” stated Avraham Tendler, excavation director at the site. “The fortress’s occupants cooked and baked here for hundreds of years during the Middle Ages.”

Tendler added that “it seems that the cooks of the time were not sufficiently careful with the jewelry they wore while cooking and baking, since numerous pieces of jewelry have been found in the excavation, some made of bronze and silver.”

Givat Tittora is an archaeological site within the municipal boundaries of Modi?in-Maccabim-Re?ut. Previous archaeological excavations on the hill have unearthed evidence of civilization at the site from the modern era, dating back to in the Chalcolithic period (about 6,000 years ago). According to the Antiquities Authority, the collaboration between the Authority and municipal authorities gives residents of all ages the opportunity to uncover their town’s cultural heritage “directly, without intermediaries.”

“I was excited to discover a mixed, cohesive, and caring community in the city of Modi?in,” said Vered Bosidan, project coordinator on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “The local residents have a special connection to with Tittora Hill and I am sure that it will be strengthened even more as a result of the archaeological excavation.”

“The enthusiasm begins with the younger generation, with activities carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in schools, and makes its way into the homes, to parents and to extended family,” continued Bosidan. “It is there that the seeds are sown that result in the development of an awareness of antiquity preservation.”