The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced yesterday the discovery of a 1,300-year-old complex that may have served as a trade hub or been part of a previously undiscovered settlement dating to the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. The Jerusalem Post reports that excavations conducted over the past few months at the Winter Stadium parking lot in Ramat Gan uncovered a network of ancient streets, pottery kilns, industrial facilities, and several buildings. Evidence also indicates that the site was abandoned and resettled during its history.
While nearby communities at the time were home to Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Samaritans, the excavations did not uncover any artifacts with a clear indication of a certain religious or ethnic group.
IAA researchers have proposed two main theories about the site, namely that it originally served as either a major trade and industrial station or was part of a currently undiscovered nearby settlement.
The site is estimated to have been operational for about 150 years before being abandoned for reasons researchers do not yet know, until it was resettled in the 10th century CE.
The buildings were identified as production facilities based in part on the numerous tabun ovens found at the site. Other artifacts pointing to the site’s extensive activity included oil lamps, pickaxe heads, a sickle, nails, coins, and both local and imported pottery and glass.
The complex is estimated to have operated for at least 150 years during the seventh and eighth centuries before being abandoned for unknown reasons. It was resettled in the 10th century CE but abandoned again in the late 11th century, before the Crusades. It was never resettled after that.
IAA excavation directors Yoav Arbel and Lior Rauchberger said, “The excavation uncovered an organized, planned complex featuring straight, intersecting streets. Lining these streets was a series of rooms that served as shops or warehouses, plastered industrial facilities, pottery kilns, and more.”
Arbel also said the site’s location was likely not coincidental, as it was situated near a main road connecting nearby towns with Jerusalem. The area also had access to water sources and fertile soil. The IAA will take an official inventory of the finds this Wednesday as it considers the possibility of putting them on public display.