En Esur

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En Esur (also Ein Asawir ) refers to an excavation site in northern Israel and the former settlement from the Early Bronze Age of the Canaan region that was discovered there . This is about 5000 years old, 0.65 square kilometers and is estimated to have been inhabited by 5000 to 6000 people. In addition, evidence of a settlement from the Copper Age that was 2000 years older was found below this settlement . There are signs of the earliest urbanization processes here .

The excavation was initially created as an emergency excavation from 2017 due to road works .

Excavation site

The excavation site is near Harish in Haifa district , about halfway from Tel Aviv-Jaffa to Haifa . As it has been known from smaller excavations since the 1960s, a comprehensive rescue excavation was started in the run-up to road construction work in 2017 under the direction of Yitzhak Paz, Dina Shalem and Itai Elad by the Israel Antiquities Authority. It is the largest excavation site in the history of Israel. The first results were presented in 2019.

Meaning of the finds

The first urban structures go back to the early Copper Age around 7000 years ago. 5300 years ago the city grew rapidly and 5100 years ago it had its maximum size with 5000 to 6000 inhabitants. The largest structure with a length of 25 meters was probably a temple, as evidenced by 7000 year old, human-like figures and seal impressions. Fortifications, silos and a cemetery were discovered. For the time, the size of the settlement was extraordinarily large, ten times the size of Jericho . That is why the explorers spoke of an "Early Bronze Age New York". Ceramic shards document trade as far as the Jordan Valley and Egypt, 120 kilometers away. No evidence of a written culture was found. The settlement grew strongly around 5300 years ago, before it was opened around 3050 BC. Was abandoned, which explains the good state of preservation.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elad Itai, Yitzak Paz: En Esur (Asawir): Preliminary Report . In: Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel . 130, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  2. ↑ Archaeologists uncover an 'early bronze age New York' in northern Israel , Newsweek. October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019. 
  3. ^ Remains of 5,000-year-old ancient city unearthed by Israeli archaeologists , Jewish News. October 7, 2019. 
  4. ↑ AFP message; Source: Lippische Landes-Zeitung of October 8, 2019, p. 5.
  5. ^ A b Antonia Kleikamp: Archeology: How important is the "New York of the Bronze Age" in Israel? October 8, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed October 8, 2019]).
  6. ^ Ariel David: Gigantic Prehistoric City Found in Israel During Roadworks . In: Haaretz . October 6, 2019 ( Haaretz.com [accessed October 8, 2019]).

Coordinates: 32 ° 28 ′ 44 ″  N , 35 ° 1 ′ 10 ″  E