13 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

5500-year-old city gate unearthed in Israel -the earliest known in the Land of Israel-

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday that archaeologists have discovered the earliest known ancient gate in the land of Israel, at Tel Erani, near Kiryat Gat Industrial Zone.

The Tel ‘Erani was fortified in the Early Bronze I period, more than 5,000 years ago, and was one of the major economic and commercial centers of this period in the southern Levant.

The ancient city of Tel Erani is one of the first examples of urbanization in Israel and the gate’s discovery indicates that urbanization in the region occurred centuries earlier than believed.

Previously, experts had believed that urbanization in this area had started around 5,200 years ago, which was the age of the oldest known gate in Israel. Until the current discovery, the oldest gate to a fortified city was in Tel Arad, near Beersheba. But the dating of the Tel Erani gate pushes the evidence of the start of urbanization back by a number of centuries, to around 5,500 years ago.

Prior to laying a water pipe, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted an excavation funded by Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, over the last month. During this excavation, a gate and part of an ancient city’s fortification system dating to the Early Bronze IB, approximately 3,300 years ago, were discovered. These structures reflect the beginning of urbanization in the Land of Israel and the Southern Levant.

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. This gate is attached to the city walls that were uncovered in previous excavations.

Uncovering the city gate. Photo: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority
Uncovering the city gate. Photo: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority

According to Emily Bischoff, Director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority: “This is the first time that such a large gate dating to the Early Bronze IB has been uncovered. 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. The fortification system is evidence of a 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,” says Martin-David Pasternak, IAA researcher of this period. “The gate not only defended the settlement, but also conveyed the message that one was entering an important strong settlement that was well-organized politically, socially, and economically. This was the message to outsiders, possibly also to Egypt, where the process that would lead to the unification of the Lower and Upper Egypt under King Narmer was already beginning.”

Pasternak adds that, “At the end of the Early Bronze Age, the Egyptians themselves arrived here and settled the tell, and they reused the gate.”

Ancient vessels found at the site. Photo: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
Ancient vessels found at the site. Photo: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

According to Dr. Yitzhak Paz, IAA archaeologist specializing in the Early Bronze Age period, “Tell Erani, which is about 150 dunams in size, was an important early urban center in this area in the Early Bronze period. The tell 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 extensive excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority over recent years have led to dating the beginning of urbanization to the end of the fourth millennium BCE, but the excavations carried out at Tell Erani have now shown that this process began even earlier, in the last third of the fourth millennium BCE.

Archaeologists also found a number of interesting smaller discoveries, including a complete alabaster jar, a number of juglets, and red-colored bowls.

IAA

Cover Photo: The ancient gate at Tell Erani. Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Articles

Detectorist Finds 2,500-Year-Old Unique Bronze Brooch

26 August 2024

26 August 2024

A metal detectorist, who chose to remain anonymous, uncovered three artifacts, including a massive fibula, i.e. a bronze brooch dating...

Ancient Christian Settlement Discovered in Egypt

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said on Saturday that a French-Norwegian archaeological team had discovered a new ancient Christian settlement...

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a stone circle in the Castilly Henge, located in Cornwall, England

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a mysterious stone circle at the center of a prehistoric ritual site near Bodmin in Cornwall, located...

“Mosaic of the Wine Harvest” mosaic to be exhibited in November in Turkey’s Hatay

26 October 2021

26 October 2021

The mosaic depicting the grape harvest, which is considered to date from the Late Roman period, equivalent to the 5th...

The Discovery of a Historic Wooden Shipwreck in the North Sea

27 January 2025

27 January 2025

A section of a wooden shipwreck was uncovered near Rantum, a coastal village located on the island of Sylt in...

In Poland, a 45-meter-long mysterious tunnel found under the ruins of the Saxon Palace

9 September 2023

9 September 2023

A mysterious underground tunnel was found under the ruins of the Saski Palace in Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, the capital...

The Oldest Semicircular Classroom in the Greek World Unearthed in Sicily

21 April 2025

21 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough in southern Sicily, an international team of researchers has uncovered an extraordinary ancient classroom that...

Hiker found a place of holy worship at an altitude of 2,590 meters in the Swiss Alps

15 March 2023

15 March 2023

A trekking enthusiast stumbled upon an ancient Roman coin buried in rubble in a remote area high in the Alps...

Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

The remnants of a 12th-century madrassa (Islamic institution of higher instruction) have been discovered in the archaeological site of Harran,...

The International Congress of Hittitology will be held in Istanbul for the first time in its history

29 December 2021

29 December 2021

The International Congress of Hittitology, which has been held every three years since 1990, was postponed for one year due...

Archaeologists Unearth Carolingian Silver Treasure Hoard

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

A silver treasure hoard from the 9th century AD has been discovered in Poland‘s Osa and Drwęca basin. The hoard...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Rare textiles and dwellings discovered in the submerged Neolithic settlement near Rome

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

Underwater archaeologists have discovered rare, well-preserved textiles, basketry, and cordage from the early Neolithic period in an area near Rome,...