28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Unexpected finds under the Tel Aviv Suburban

In preparation for a planned residential building project in suburban Tel Aviv, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have begun excavating to ensure that no historical artifacts would be harmed.

The scope of the new discoveries in Ramat Hasharon indicates that this contemporary suburb was constructed on land that had previously been utilized for a variety of profitable industries such as agricultural farming, winemaking, glassmaking, and much, much more.

Archaeologists and historians were taken aback when they discovered a thriving and prosperous farmhouse 1,500 years ago in the area north of Tel Aviv. There is no reference of such a village or large-scale farm elsewhere in the historical record, and there are no above-ground ruins nearby that could indicate the region was populated long ago. The site for the new housing in Ramat Hasharon is treeless and desert-like now but apparently was capable of producing an abundance of crops in the first millennium AD.

“The excavation unearthed evidence of agricultural-industrial activity at the site during the Byzantine period about 1,500 years ago,” Dr. Yoav Arbel director of the excavation said in a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

“Among other finds, we discovered a large winepress paved with a mosaic, as well as plastered installations and the foundations of a large structure that may have been used as a warehouse or even a farmstead,” he said.

The gold coin unearthed in the excavation was minted in either 638 or 639 AD when ancient Palestine was part of the Byzantine Empire ruled by Emperor  Heraclius. (Amir Gorzalczany /  Israel Antiquities Authority )
The gold coin unearthed in the excavation was minted in either 638 or 639 AD when ancient Palestine was part of the Byzantine Empire ruled by Emperor Heraclius. (Amir Gorzalczany / Israel Antiquities Authority )

A single gold coin

A single gold coin produced in perhaps 638 or 639 AD, when ancient Palestine was part of the Byzantine empire governed by Emperor Heraclius, was one of the more fascinating finds. This coin was struck just two or three years before Byzantine forces in that area of the world were destroyed by invading armies from Arab regions, who brought with them the new faith of Islam.

On one side, the emperor and his two sons were shown, while on the other, the hill where Jesus was crucified (known as Golgotha) was depicted. An inscription in a language that might have been either Greek (the official language in Byzantine-era Palestine) or Arabic was scratched into the coin’s surface (the language of the post-641 AD occupiers of Palestine).

“The coin encapsulates fascinating data on the country’s decline of Byzantine rule and contemporary historical events, such as the Persian invasion and the emergence of Islam, as well as information on Christian and pagan symbolism and the local population who lived here,” said Dr. Robert Kool, the Antiquities Authority’s numismatics department head.

Ramat Hasharon was created in 1923 by Polish Jewish immigrants. Preparations for the community’s 100th anniversary have already begun, and Mayor Avi Gruber has stated that the area’s unique history would be emphasized during these celebrations.

Cover Photo: Top image: The winepress discovered at the Byzantine-era farmstead found under the modern suburb of Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Israel.  Source: Yoli Schwartz /  Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Articles

Egyptian mission discovered five ancient water wells in North Sinai

1 March 2022

1 March 2022

A team of Egyptian archeologists working in the Tell El Kedwa discovered five ancient wells which are believed to be...

1,800-year-old wooden mask likely used in farm festivals found in Japan

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed an almost perfectly preserved wooden mask from the early third century at the Nishi-Iwata ruins in Osaka...

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

27 October 2024

27 October 2024

In early 2019, seven metal detectorists found a cache of 2,584 silver coins dating to the Norman Conquest that had...

New discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins demonstrate ancient China’s creative ability

9 September 2021

9 September 2021

Chinese archaeologists revealed fresh important finds at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Thursday, from pits...

Prehistoric Masterpiece Discovered in Northern Sweden: White Quartzite Arrowhead

12 July 2025

12 July 2025

A bifacially crafted arrowhead made of white quartzite has become the most remarkable discovery at an archaeological excavation in northern...

A 3800-year-old cylinder seal was discovered at Turkey’s Tepebag Mound excavations

8 July 2022

8 July 2022

In the 2022 excavations of Tepebag Mound, located around Taşköprü, the center of Adana province in Turkey’s Mediterranean Region, a...

Analysis of Butchered Bones, Somerset Pit Reveals Bronze Age Cannibalism

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the bloodiest massacre in early Bronze Age Britain and evidence of Bronze Age cannibalism. It is the...

The migration movement that started from Siberia 30,000 years ago may have shaped Göbeklitepe

24 June 2022

24 June 2022

Professor Semih Güneri, retired faculty member from Dokuz Eylul University (DEU) Caucasus Central Asia Archeology Research Center, stated that they...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...

What Lies Beneath Bor Ovoo? Turkish and Mongolian Researchers Set to Unearth Ancient Nomadic Traditions

20 July 2025

20 July 2025

Renowned historian Prof. Dr. Kürşad Yıldırım, a leading expert in Central Asian nomadic cultures from Istanbul University, is spearheading a...

Historic Leeds cemetery discovery unearths an ancient lead coffin belonging to a late Roman aristocratic woman

14 March 2023

14 March 2023

Archaeologists in northern Britain uncovered the skeletal remains of a late-Roman aristocratic woman inside a lead coffin, as well as...

An Etruscan Home Discovered in Corsica “First-Of-Its-Kind Find for the Island”

11 July 2024

11 July 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the first Etruscan domestic structure, dating to the 6th to 4th centuries BC, off the east coast...

Rare Langsax fighting blade with Viking origins discovered in Poland

20 August 2021

20 August 2021

Archaeologists working in the Wdecki Landscape Park in Poland’s Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship have discovered a rare langsax long knife with potential...

16th-Century Shipwreck Discovered at Record Depth Off French Mediterranean Coast

12 June 2025

12 June 2025

The deepest shipwreck ever documented in French territorial waters has been found over 2,500 meters below the surface. In a...

Derinkuyu: A Subterranean Marvel of Ancient Engineering with 18 Levels and Capacity for 20,000 Inhabitants

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

Beneath the sun-drenched plains of Cappadocia, where otherworldly “fairy chimney” rock formations pierce the sky, lies a secret world carved...