Ancient City Found In Israel During Off-Ramp Construction
Israeli archaeologists work at the ancient site of En Esur (Ein Asawir) where a 5000-year-old city was uncovered, near the Israeli town of Harish. Image by Getty
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Archaeological excavations in northern Israel in preparation to build a highway off-ramp uncovered a 5,000-year-old city that was home to as many as 6,000 residents.
It is one of the first and largest early Bronze Age settlements excavated in Israel, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which announced the discovery on Sunday.
“This is the Early Bronze Age New York of our region; a cosmopolitan and planned city where thousands of inhabitants lived,” Itai Elad, Yitzhak Paz and Dina Shalem, directors of the excavation, said in a statement.
The antiquities were discovered during massive excavations, initiated by Netivei Israel-the National Transport Infrastructure Company, which was carrying out groundwork for construction of an interchange road to the new Israeli city of Harish.
The excavations have been in progress for two and a half years. Deeper excavations found that the ancient city was built over an even more ancient 7,000-year-old settlement.
The attraction for both settlements appears to be two abundant springs originating in the area in antiquity, according to the IAA.
About 5,000 teenagers and volunteers participated in the excavations as part of the authority’s Sharing Heritage Project.
“There is no doubt that this site dramatically changes what we know about the character of the period and the beginning of urbanization in Israel,” the excavation directors said.
The new interchange will be built high above the ruins, preserving it for future generations.
The post 5,000-year-old metropolis discovered in northern Israel appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture fellow. He can be reached at [email protected].
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
