Israel’s archaeologists unearthed a 5,500-year-old gate. It is tagged as the oldest such structure ever discovered in Israel. The archaeologists found it as they were digging a location close to Kiryat Gat’s industrial zone before the installation of a water line. The information was shared by the Israel Antiquities Authority on Tuesday. Here is how the discovery is important for the archaeologists.
Israel Archaeologists Discovered 5,500-Year-Old Gate
פתחו את השער: בחפירה של רשות העתיקות לפני הקמת קו מים של חברת מקורות באזור קרית גת, התגלה שער קדום, בן כ-5,500 שנים(!) >>
שער זה, היה חלק ממערכת הביצור של אחד התלים החשובים ביותר להבנת ראשית העיור.לפוסט המלא: https://t.co/hCaQv0g0NL pic.twitter.com/rNs130wavW
— רשות העתיקות – Israel Antiquities Authority (@AntiquitiesIL) August 15, 2023
According to Antiquities Authority Eli Eskosido, the discovery of the oldest city gate ever found in the nation provides another crucial piece of knowledge for their understanding of archaeology. It was decided to relocate the water pipe with the assistance of the Mekorot Water Company in order to protect the historic gate.
In addition to the gate, a section of a fortification system was also uncovered during the dig in Tel Erani. It was created some 3,300 years ago, during the Early Bronze Age.
The earliest gate to a fortified city was previously found in Tel Arad, close to Beersheba. But the Tel Erani gate’s date places the beginning of urbanization many centuries earlier, at about 5,500 years ago.
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Marks The Start Of Urbanization
The Israel Antiquities Authority claims that the discovery offers important new information about the evolution of ancient urban centers and their tactical defense.
According to Emily Bischoff, the director of excavations, stones had to be transported from a distance, mud bricks had to be made, and the defensive walls had to be built in order to build the gate and the walls. This was not accomplished by just one or a few people. The fortification system is proof of a social structure that marks the start of urbanization.
The origins of Tel Erani, a 150-dunham (37-acre) site, are linked to the prehistoric Philistines. The city was destroyed in the sixth century BCE, most likely by the Babylonians, and was situated on the modern outskirts of Kiryat Gat. (As per The Print)
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Cover Image Courtesy: @AntiquitiesIL/X