Summary: A gate complex dated to 5,500 years ago uncovered at Tel Erani is now considered the “oldest city gate” known in Israel by centuries and gives more understanding to gates in the Bible.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in. – Psalm 24:7 (ESV)
An Even Older City Gate
A monumental city gate has been discovered at Tel Erani in southern Israel. The gate is believed by the scholars excavating the site to be at least 5,500 years old, making it the oldest gate uncovered in Israel so far by centuries! The imposing gate structure was built using the usual locally available mudbrick, but surprisingly, it also included giant, imported stone blocks.
The site provides valuable insight to the development of walled fortifications in Canaan that would eventually lead to a land filled with “cities great and fortified up to heaven” (Deut. 1:28) at the time of the Israelites’ conquest. Studying city gates also helps to understand the important role they play in many Biblical accounts.
The structure was unearthed during excavations near Kiryat Gat’s industrial zone in preparation for a new water pipeline installation to provide water to the Intel factory in the region. Plans have been changed and the company has agreed to move the pipe to a different location to preserve the historic discovery.
The excavation not only revealed the ancient gate flanked by two robust stone guard towers, but also a portion of a fortification system with an impressively thick wall measuring up to 26 feet wide in places and just under five feet tall.
What really caught archeologists’ attention was the advanced method of construction with use of massive stones, a deviation from the traditional mudbrick commonly used for building at this time. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), this discovery will shed light on the development of urban centers and the expansion of strategic defenses.
“This is the first time that such a large gate dating to the Early Bronze IB has been uncovered,” said IAA excavation director Emily Bischoff, in a video about the gate. “What’s interesting about this gate is it was built partially from mud bricks and partially from monolithic stones, and these stones are larger than me!”
The Early Bronze Age (EBA) is a period of the history of the Levant (countries bordering the east shore of the Mediterranean and the Jordan valley) that historians typically have dated to a span of approximately 3600 BC to 2500 BC. The EBA is divided into three sub-periods: Early Bronze IA (3600 – 3300 BC), Early Bronze IB (3300-3100 BC), and the Early Bronze II (3100-2900 BC). There are many different ideas about what dates should be assigned to very ancient remains, but on just about everyone’s timescale, these layers would be from long before Abraham.
Signs of a Growing City
To construct the formidable gate and the fortification walls, huge stones needed to be brought in from considerable distances, perhaps as far away as Lachish, located 8 miles to the east. Plus, hundreds, if not thousands, of mud bricks had to be manufactured. A significantly large group of people working together toward a common goal would be required to accomplish this massive task.
“This was not achieved by one or a few individuals. The fortification system is evidence of social organization that represents the beginning of urbanization,” explained Birschoff. “It’s the first time people go from living all over the region to living inside the city walls.”
City gates served a major function in ancient sites as the necessary entrance to the city for all travelers. Not only did it restrict access, but a powerful gate and strong fortification wall conveyed the message to visitors that they were entering an established and well-organized city, a deterrent for anyone who considered attacking.
“It is probable that all passersby, traders or enemies who wanted to enter the city had to pass through this impressive gate,” said Martin-David Pasternak, an IAA researcher whose area of expertise is the Bronze Age.
The substantial fortification effort most likely started when Egypt began making its presence known in the region, as the process that would lead to the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt began under King Narmer. “At the end of the Early Bronze Age, the Egyptians themselves arrived here, settled the tel, and reused the gate,” according to Pasternak.
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of Egypt among other smaller artifacts found, including a fully intact alabaster jar, numerous juglets and red-colored bowls. The latter pottery styles discovered at the site are Egyptian in style, providing confirmation of their presence in the area at this time.
Urbanization Earlier Than Thought
“Tel Erani, which is about 150 dunams (37 acres) in size, was an important early urban center in this area in the Early Bronze Period,” said Dr. Yitzhak Paz, an IAA archaeologist specializing in the EBA. “The tel 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.”
Evidence of urban life found during excavations at Tel Erani include public structures, settlement planning featuring streets and defensive walls, a possible drainage system, and signs of social stratification which indicate varying living conditions based on the social status of individuals, reported The Times of Israel.
The newly found gate is an important find that will affect previously held dates for the beginning of the urbanization process in the country. The dating of the Tel Erani gate pushes back views of the origins of urbanization by several centuries, to around 5,500 years ago.
Prior to this discovery, experts believed that urbanization in this region had begun 300 years later, around 5,200 years ago, coinciding with the age of the previously known “oldest gate” in Israel, which belonged to the well-preserved, fortified city of Tel Arad, located near Beersheba.
Tel Arad was the site of an important discovery Patterns of Evidence reported on earlier. Over 100 ostraca were found, written in Hebrew with a variety of messages, dating to around 600 BC, the period just before Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. Remarkably, one of the inscriptions mentioned the ‘King of Judah’ and another the ‘House of YHWH,’ possibly referring to the Temple in Jerusalem.
“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,” explained Dr. Paz, “but the excavations carried out at Tel Erani have now shown that this process began even earlier, in the last third of the fourth millennium BCE.”
The Function of Ancient Gates and Biblical Connections
Gates in the ancient world were far more than entrances to cities and part of the fortification system. Gates were seats of authority where the elders would convene, counsels would be held, judgments would be made, and important messages would be proclaimed.
And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him … – 2nd Samuel 15:2
He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city… – Joshua 20:4
Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. – 2nd Chronicles 18:9
Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. – Jeremiah 20:2
So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. – Nehemiah 8:2-3
Discovering the archaeology of gates in ancient cities confirms that they were much more than doorways, they were large complexes (often with outer and inner doors) that served a central role in the life of the city. This helps us better understand passages such as Genesis 19 where Abraham’s nephew Lot was said to be sitting in the city gate of Sodom. Lot was not just on the periphery of Sodom’s society, over time he had been drawn in – to the point where he was an insider sitting in the city gate, entangled in the workings of that wicked culture.
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom… – Genesis 19:1
The History of Tel Erani
Tel Erani, located on the coastal plain, is a multi-period archaeological site with a long and varied history, including links to the ancient Philistines. Various archeologists have studied the area through the years and have identified it with a number of different biblical cities: Libnah, Gath, Mmst, Eglon and Makkedah.
Tel Erani has been occupied since at least the Chalcolithic period and is a classic tel (also written tell), with one settlement built atop the last one, developing into a mound over time. It became more largely settled in the Bronze Age when the city was fortified.
Based on Bronze Age pottery found at the site, archaeologists know that Tel Erani traded with other areas in the region such as the Negev and the Judean Desert. The city was positioned on major trade routes between Egypt and the northern section of the Fertile Crescent (the Cradle of Civilization) – an area covering Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia. The foundation of the city preceded other large Canaanite cities that were built during the Early Bronze II period, such as Arad in the south, and in the north Beit Shean and Dan.
Structures in Tel Erani at this time were large and complex, probably built up two stories high, and were constructed of thick brick walls. The homes had a central courtyard with rooms of different sizes attached to it. According to estimates, there were about 3,000-5,000 residents living within the area of the walled city.
Archeological Discoveries of Other Periods
Tel Erani has hosted several archaeological excavations since the mid-1950s, directed by the Department of Antiquities, the IAA, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and University of Krakow, Poland. These collaborative efforts have unraveled a wealth of archaeological treasures, painting a clearer picture of the past.
Important artifacts discovered on top of the hill (the more recent layers) include 13 seals imprinted on jars with the Hebrew letters LMLK (“L’melekh”), meaning “belonging to the king.” Some of the seals had the city of Mamshit named on the bottom (type “M2D”), with 4 Hebrew letters Mem-Mem-Shin-Tau. The majority of scholars believe these seal impressions date to the 8th-7th centuries BC, around the reign of King Hezekiah. The finding of the seals imply that a Judean administration city was located at Tel Erani.
Conclusion
Today Tel Erani is located on the outskirts of the modern city of Kiryat Gat which was established in 1955. At that time, Tel Erani was thought to be the biblical city of Gath so the city was named Kiryat Gat meaning “Town of Gath.” Since then, Philistine Gath has been identified elsewhere at a site called Tel Tsafit (es-Safi).
The Tel Erani site adds to our knowledge of the land Israel prior to the entrance of the Israelites. It was among the southern Levant’s major commercial and economic centers, standing as one of Canaan’s earliest instances of urban development. Following the latest meticulous excavation, the area was backfilled to ensure the historic gate’s long-term preservation, keeping it safe from erosion and vandalism.
“The discovery of the most ancient city gate known in the country adds another important piece … to our archaeological knowledge,” concluded director of the IAA Eli Eskosido. There are always more exciting discoveries to Keep us Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Aerial view of the 5,500-year-old gate at Tel Erani, Israel. (credit: Emil Aladjem / IAA)
