Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a 5,500-year-old city gate — the earliest known in Israel — and a fortification system at Tell Erani, an archaeological site on the outskirts of Kiryat Gat in the Southern District of Israel.
“Tell Erani was an important early urban center in this area in the Early Bronze period,” said IAA archaeologist Dr. Yitzhak Paz.
“The site was part of a large and important settlement system in the southwestern area of the country in this period.”
“Within this system we can identify the first signs of the urbanization process, including settlement planning, social stratification, and public building.”
“The newly-uncovered gate is an important discovery that affects the dating of the beginning of the urbanization process in the country.”
The Tel Erani gate, which was preserved at a height of 1.5 m, is comprised of a passageway built of large stones that leads into the ancient city.
Two towers made of large stones flank the gate, and between them there are rows of mudbricks.
The ancient gate is attached to the city walls that were uncovered in previous excavations.
“This is the first time that such a large gate dating to the Early Bronze IB has been uncovered,” said Dr. Emily Bischoff, director of the excavations from the IAA.
“To construct the gate and the fortification walls, stones had to be brought from a distance, mudbricks had to be manufactured and the fortification walls had to be constructed.”
“This was not achieved by one or a few individuals,” she noted.
“The fortification system is evidence of social organization that represents the beginning of urbanization.”
“It is probable that all passers-by, traders or enemies, who wanted to enter the city had to pass through this impressive gate,” said IAA archaeologist Dr. Martin-David Pasternak.
“The gate not only defended the settlement, but also conveyed the message that one was entering an important…
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