5,500-year-old gate connecting Tel Erani unearthed in Israel

The authorities began excavation work in August in preparation for the installation of a water line at the location. During this excavation, the ruins of an ancient city's gate came into the spotlight. 

The uncovered gate 

The remains of the Tel Erani gate were preserved at a height of 4.9 feet (1.5 meters).

The gate was connected to the city walls discovered during earlier excavations. Two massive stone towers once surrounded the gate, and between them were rows of mudbricks.

“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 social organization that represents the beginning of urbanization,” said Emily Bischoff, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the post.

The gate was potentially used by "passers-by, traders, or enemies" who needed to access the city. 

“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,” continued Martin-David Pasternak, Israel Antiquities Authority researcher of this period, in the FB post. 

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

Tel Erani was an early urbanization hub

The current findings are critical in determining the start of the country's urbanization. It suggests that urbanization began centuries earlier than previously estimated through the Tel Arad gate excavation. 

Tel Erani was an important early urban hub in the country's southwestern region during the Early Bronze Age. 

Within this settlement structure, experts have identified the evidence of early urbanization processes, such as settlement planning, social stratification, and building construction. 

Reportedly, the ancient Tel Erani city was spread over an area of 150 dunams (150,000 square meters or 37 acres) in the Early Bronze Period, beginning around 3,300 BC, and abandoned near the end of the Early Bronze Period, around 2,500 BC.

A whole alabaster jar, a handful of juglets, and red-colored bowls were among the minor findings made by archaeologists from this site.