In northern Israel, archaeologists have discovered a stunning—yet utterly perplexing—find: a 3,800-year-old Canaanite arch and stairway, perfectly preserved underground.
An aerial view of the dig site at Tel Shimron Eyecon
The construction, which was discovered at the Tel Shimron archaeological site, is unknown to researchers. Additionally, they don't understand why it was closed off soon after it was built.
In contrast, the preservation of the structure is "breathtaking, especially since the building material is unfired (!) mud brick—a material that only rarely survives a long time," writes excavation co-director Mario A.S. Martin of the University of Innsbruck in Austria in an email to Live Science's Sascha Pare.
Tel Shimron hasn't received much attention from archaeologists in the past. The site had never undergone a significant amount of excavation before the current dig started in 2017. The team recently came across an odd building that appeared to be man-made.
“We kept digging down further, and it was preserved at a depth of one meter, then two meters, then three meters, then four meters,” excavation co-director Daniel Master, an archaeologist at Wheaton College, tells the Times of Israel’s Melanie Lidman. “This structure was totally intact, and suddenly we realized we were dealing with the foundation of a building or a superstructure that had been constructed at the top of the site.”
According to Ariel David of Haaretz, the team discovered mud brick walls that were up to 13 feet (4 meters) thick. Strangely, none of them contained any rooms. Instead, there was a lengthy passage within, which led to the enigmatic arch. Researchers discovered a staircase leading further underground behind it.
According to Live Science, this arch is "corbelled," which means it was constructed by adding brick layers gradually inward. A "true arch" is created with bricks of a specific shape that fit together, whereas this style is occasionally referred to as a "false arch." According to The Times of Israel, the recently discovered arch is the country's first instance of corbelled construction.
These buildings were quickly filled with sediment after construction. According to Martin to Live Science, "Why the passage went out of use so soon is a matter of speculation." The fact, however, is that it was carried out voluntarily and not because there was a threat of impending collapse. Since it is the sole explanation for why the feature is still so exceptionally well preserved nearly 4,000 years later, the swift backfill is for us archaeologists the most fortunate part of the entire story.
The brick corbelled arch hangs over a corridor inside of the structure found at Tel Shimron. Eyecon
These buildings were built between 1800 and 1750 B.C.E., at a time when the area was home to a sizable Canaanite metropolis. In ancient Egyptian literature, the city was referred to as a significant commerce center.
The initial hypothesis of the scholars was that the walls might have been erected to defend the city from invader troops. In the end, though, the design of the site refuted that hypothesis.
They now believe the structure may have been used for cultic activities in light of a few hints. According to Haaretz, the crew discovered a Nahariya bowl, a style of seven-cupped clay dish used for ritual offerings. Thousands of animal bones that may have been used in sacrifice were also discovered in a nearby building.
The discovery has been exciting for the researchers, who are used to plodding, steady development, even though there are still many unanswered concerns. Master tells Haaretz, "I’m going to spend the next few years convincing my students that this is not archaeology." You simply don't come across large, complete, arched tunnels that you can just walk through.
The researchers hope to uncover more information about the enigmatic staircase in the future. When they eventually get there, they want to "dig down from the other side to try to reach whatever this passage leads to from above," Master continues. The location has been reburied in the interim to shield it from the weather.
