The Middle Bronze Age was determined by archaeologists with the aid of an artifact discovered at the entrance to the corridor.
Aerial view showing stone-covered plaza scheduled for future excavation to access the passageway with the corbelled vault, Tel Shimron.
A rare and perfectly preserved arched corridor from approximately 3,800 years ago was discovered by archaeologists at the Tel Shimron Excavations in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel, it was revealed on Thursday.
This extraordinary discovery fills in a crucial gap in the history of the arch in the area by marking the first use of a corbelled mudbrick vault in a tunnel in the southern Levant.
Only 200 years after the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who lived in the 17th century BCE, when Jewish history began almost 4,000 years ago, did the tunnel appear.
"This is the only example of a mudbrick passageway with an intact corbelled vault discovered in the southern Levant, exquisitely preserved and complete with decorative elements," said Daniel Master, co-director of the Tel Shimron excavations. This discovery fills in a significant gap in the history of the arch in this area.
The vault, he continued, is "an ancestor of the mudbrick radial arch in the gate at Tel Dan and is an extraordinary example of Mesopotamian mudbrick technology."
A corbel is a structural element used in architecture that protrudes from a wall to support a bracket-like superincumbent weight. In order to produce a gradually narrower ceiling, piled bricks are gradually stepped inward. Mesopotamian sites frequently employed this approach. However, this mudbrick construction is unique in that it has never been discovered in a southern Levant corridor, making it a remarkable discovery that reveals linkages across the fertile crescent.
Archaeologists at Tel Shimron discovered a tower made of over 9,000 carefully preserved mudbricks that was more than five meters high on the southern side of the ancient city's acropolis. There was a little corridor in the middle of the building that led to the domed mudbrick passageway. The corridor, which is over two meters long and has mudbrick stairs that descend towards the city, has a corbelled roof constructed of unfired brick that is decorated with white chalk stripes.
Corbelling is utilized on small tomb cysts at different Middle Bronze Age sites, both in Canaan and the Egyptian Delta, according to Mario Martin, the co-director of Master's excavations. "However, there is no other totally surviving mudbrick-built tunnel with this kind of corbelled vault. These unfired mudbrick buildings hardly ever endure.
Object found there aids archaeologists in dating a route.
The archaeologists discovered an undamaged Middle Bronze Age vase lying among ashy detritus at the entrance to the cave. The entire object, referred to as a "Nahariya Bowl," is a seven-cup offering bowl that derives its name from the location in northern Israel where it was first found in a cultic context. This discovery aids in establishing the tower complex's Middle Bronze Age origins. The kingdom of Tel Shimron (ancient Sham-anu) was powerful enough to catch the Egyptians' attention about this time, according to legend.
The royal acropolis included the tower complex. The tower itself, with its extensive use of intricate brickwork, is a prime example of the vast fortifications and elite constructions typical of the major cities of the Bronze Age, as evidenced in buildings discovered in elite districts of Mesopotamian cities like Mari and Ur. The acropolis has been uncovered in an area of around 500 square meters, with stone foundations and mudbrick buildings elevating the entire precinct by more than four meters.
The Tel Shimron corridor was intentionally blocked up shortly after it was built. The vault and mudbrick stairs of the corridor were nearly completely intact thanks to the ancient fill. The entire vaulted corridor is still in existence, but big stones obstruct the path beyond the brick tower's edge. The corridor was backfilled by the end of the summer excavation season at Tel Shimron in 2023 to protect the delicate mudbrick from deterioration. Archaeologists intend to open the route from the opposite direction during next excavation seasons to determine its ultimate destination.
Mudbrick stairs within the passageway are blocked by intentional gravel backfill and large boulders, Tel Shimron. (credit: EYECON)
Located along historic trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Desert, Tel Shimron is a massive ruin that dominates the northern Jezreel Valley in Israel. Beginning in the early second millennium BCE, Egyptian texts first made reference to the ancient city. Subsequent texts, including as the Hebrew Bible and the Mishna, continued to make reference to it.
Tel Shimron had never undergone comprehensive excavation prior to 2016, and the world was mostly unaware of its multi-epoch history. The group led by Master and Martin has made progress at bridging this historical gap in northern Israel over the past seven years. The excavation team has already unearthed a Canaanite fortified city (1850–1200 BCE), pieces of an Israelite city from the First Temple era (734–2 BCE), and a Jewish community from the early Common Era in just five excavation seasons.
Leading authorities in all fields of archaeological study from Israel, the US, and Europe are part of the Tel Shimron excavation team, which is cooperating with Wheaton College in Illinois and the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. With funding from US donors, the project is carried out under license from the Israel Antiquities Authority and INPA. Through meticulous archaeological inquiry, the excavation aims to comprehend the ancient world, particularly the world of the Bible, and to give materials for the study of Levantine history and culture for the past 5,000 years.
"Tel Shimron National Park is a time capsule capturing 5,000 years of fascinating history in the heart of the Jezreel Valley, renowned as one of the most significant tels in Israel," said Dror Ben Yosef, the INPA's archaeologist for the northern region. The current expedition's archaeological investigations at the site are supported and helped by INPA. It is interested in conserving Tel Shimron as a public place with its values of heritage, nature, and landscapes and continues to be directly involved with the study discoveries, which continue to astonish researchers year after year.
