Israele, scoperto un antico portale

15 Agosto, 2023

Israele, scoperto un antico portale che può cambiare la storia dell'urbanizzazione nella regione

Il reperto risale a circa 5.500 anni fa, lo ha fatto sapere l'Autorità israeliana per le antichità

È una scoperta che può cambiare la storia dell'urbanizzazione in Israele spostandone di molti secoli indietro la lancetta del tempo. Si tratta di un portale risalente a circa 5.500 anni fa. Lo ha fatto sapere l'Autorità israeliana per le antichità: ad oggi diventa la porta più antica conosciuta in Israele, un imponente passaggio in pietra e mattoni di fango.

Il ritrovamento è avvenuto in quella che era l'antica città di Tel Erani, vicino Kiryat Gat cittadina a sud di Tel Aviv. "È la prima volta che viene scoperta una porta così grande risalente al primo periodo del bronzo - ha detto Emily Bischoff, direttore degli scavi avviati durante lavori per una nuova condotta dell'acqua - La cosa interessante di questa porta è che è stata costruita in parte con mattoni di fango e in parte con pietre monolitiche. E queste sono più grandi di me". L'antica città di Tel Erani (circa 37 acri) è uno dei primi esempi di urbanizzazione in Israele: colonizzata nel primo periodo del bronzo, a partire dal 3.300 a.C. circa, e abbandonata alla fine del primo periodo del bronzo, intorno al 2.500 a.C.

A Tel Erani, gli archeologi hanno scoperto prove di urbanizzazione, inclusi edifici pubblici, strade e mura di fortificazione, un possibile sistema di drenaggio e "stratificazione sociale", il che significa che alcune persone avevano case più belle di altre, in base al loro status.

In precedenza gli esperti avevano creduto che l'urbanizzazione in quest'area fosse iniziata circa 5.200 anni fa, che era l'età della più antica porta conosciuta.

"È probabile che tutti i passanti, commercianti o nemici che volevano entrare in città dovessero passare attraverso questa imponente porta", ha detto Martin-David Pasternak, un ricercatore dell'IAA la cui area di competenza è l'età del bronzo. "Il cancello non solo difendeva l'insediamento, ma trasmetteva anche il messaggio che si stava entrando in un insediamento importante, forte, ben organizzato politicamente, socialmente ed economicamente".

https://www.rainews.it/articoli/2023/08/israele-scoperto-un-antico-portale-che-puo-cambiare-la-storia-dellurbanizzazione-nella-regione-0518e9dd-42cc-49d5-98bc-e1a0f3aeb142.html

Archaeologists Find 5,500-Year-Old City Gate in Israel

A monumental 5,500-year-old city gate has been unearthed at Tel Erani in Israel, according to an announcement by the Israel Antiquities Authority on Tuesday. This latest discovery is Israel’s oldest known city gate.

Instead of the traditional local mud-brick, the stone for this gate was constructed from giant stone blocks dating to the Early Bronze Age. Standing at nearly five feet tall, the gate also included a stone passageway through the city walls and two stone guard towers.

The material construction of the gate puzzled archaeologists, along with the presence of another gate made of mud-brick that is more consistent with the rest of the settlement.

The team used pottery found with the gates to determine that they were both operational during the same time.

The gate would have served as both a defense mechanism and as a signal of political, social, and economic fortitude during a time when Egyptians were beginning to unify the Lower and Upper kingdom. By the end of the Bronze Age, the Egyptians had settled in the area.

Prior to this discovery, the earliest known gate in Israel was built three centuries later at Tel Arad.

While Tel Erani has been occupied since the Chalcolithic period, it was largely settled in the Bronze Age. 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.

Rescue excavations over the last month have been funded by the Mekorot water company, who found artifacts while laying a new water pipe.

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/oldest-city-gate-tel-erani-israel-1234677071/amp/

ARCHAEOLOGY 'IT’S THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE ARE LIVING INSIDE CITY WALLS'
Discovery of Israel’s oldest gate resets clock on local urbanization by centuries
Alongside 5,500-year-old entrance to fortified city at Tel Erani, near Kiryat Gat, archaeologists find evidence of social stratified city-dwelling in Israel

An aerial view of the 5,500-year-old gate at Tel Erani, the oldest known gate in Israel, taken in 2023 before the area was backfilled for preservation. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
Archaeologists have uncovered the oldest known gate in Israel, a 5,500-year-old imposing stone and mud-brick passageway to the ancient city of Tel Erani, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday. The gate’s discovery near the central city of Kiryat Gat has forced archaeologists to reconsider when urbanization began in the region, now saying it was likely centuries earlier than previously believed.

“This is the first time that such a large gate dating to the Early Bronze IB has been uncovered,” Emily Bischoff, the IAA’s director of the excavation, said in a video about the gate. The latest excavations at Tel Erani were discovered recently during an IAA survey of the area ahead of laying a new water line to Kiryat Gat.

“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,” said Bischoff.

The ancient city of Tel Erani is one of the first examples of urbanization in Israel. Around 150 dunams (150,000 square meters or 37 acres), it was settled in the Early Bronze Period, starting around 3,300 BCE, and abandoned at the end of the Early Bronze Period, around 2,500 BCE.

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At Tel Erani, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of urbanization, including public buildings, city planning such as streets and fortification walls, a possible drainage system, and “social stratification,” meaning that some people had nicer homes than others, based on their status.

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.

Discovery of Israel’s oldest gate resets clock on local urbanization by centuries
Emily Bischoff, the director of the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority, at the Tel Erani site near Kiryat Gat. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
“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 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.”

Clear evidence of social organization
Bischoff noted that the construction of the gate and fortification walls required bringing stones from quite a distance and manufacturing hundreds or thousands of mud bricks.

“This was not achieved by one or a few individuals. The fortification system is evidence of social organization that represents the beginning of urbanization,” she explained. “It’s the first time people go from living all over the region to living inside the city walls.”

Discovery of Israel’s oldest gate resets clock on local urbanization by centuries
An aerial shot of the Tel Erani excavation site in 2023. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
Archaeologists also found a number of interesting smaller discoveries, including a complete alabaster jar, a number of juglets, and red-colored bowls. The fortification wall, which is 7 to 8 meters thick, dates to a time when Egypt was invading the area.

Tel Erani has hosted several archaeological excavations since the mid-1950s, directed by the Department of Antiquities, the Israel Antiquities Authority, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and University of Krakow, Poland. Skeletal samples from Tel Erani helped archaeologists peer into the tartar on ancient teeth and understand what kinds of foods the ancient Canaanites ate.

The current excavations took place ahead of a new water line, which Mekorot, Israel’s National Water Carrier, hopes to start building this year to provide more water to Kiryat Gat. In particular, the new water line will serve the current and planned Intel factories, which use an enormous amount of water to produce computer chips.

Discovery of Israel’s oldest gate resets clock on local urbanization by centuries
Pottery discovered while excavating the Tel Erani site near Kiryat Gat in 2023, during an Israel Antiquities Authority survey ahead of laying a water pipe. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)
Intel plans to invest $25 billion for an additional chip manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat, which should open in 2027. Chip manufacturing plants require massive amounts of ultra-pure water to keep the silicone wafers free from the smallest specks of debris or dust, as well as for cooling. The water line construction will start in the next few months and is expected to finish in 2024.

After the excavation concluded, the area was backfilled to protect the gate. Mud brick construction is particularly susceptible to erosion and vandalism.

Discovery of Israel’s oldest gate resets clock on local urbanization by centuries
An aerial view of the 5,500-year-old gate at Tel Erani, the oldest known gate in Israel, taken in 2023 before the area was backfilled for preservation. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)