Tel Dan
תל דן / Tell el-Qadi
Israel · Northern District
In brief
Tel Dan is a mound in Upper Galilee inhabited during different periods. The arched gate and Aramaic inscription uncovered in excavations are among the site's best-known finds.
What was found?
- 1Aramaic Tel Dan inscription
The fragmentary victory inscription written on basalt dates to the ninth century BCE and mentions the House of Davut. According to researchers, the inscription belongs to Hazael, King of Aram; the king's name does not appear in the surviving text.
- 2Arched mudbrick gate
The Middle Bronze Age city gate survives with its mudbrick arch. It is a tangible and well-preserved example of early arch construction.
- 3Iron Age city gate
Beside the older mudbrick gate are another gate dating to the Kingdom of Israel and a stone-paved platform. They show that the city entrance was reorganized in different periods.
- 4Cult area
A complex of ritual buildings has been uncovered during excavations. The area provides architectural evidence of religious life in ancient Dan.
What does it point to?
The gates show that investment in defenses and the city entrance continued at Tel Dan during different periods. The Aramaic victory inscription documents how regional rulers proclaimed their military achievements through monuments and named neighboring dynasties.
What did it teach us?
- Provided the earliest known written attestation of the name of the House of Davut outside the Hebrew Bible.
- Showed that mudbrick arch construction was practiced in the Middle Bronze Age.
- Made it possible to study city gates from different periods and a cult area together within the same settlement.
Images
Record
- Culture
- Canaanite; Kingdom of Israel; Hellenistic
- Coordinates
- 33.2490°, 35.6520°
Sources
- en.parks.org.il
- library.huc.edu
- en.wikipedia.org
- The Jewish Museum — Tel Dan yazıtı sergi metni
- Michigan Üniversitesi — Tel Dan Orta Tunç Çağı kapısı
Nearby excavations
- Tel Hazor 27 km
- Tel Megiddo 86 km
- Pella 89 km
- Byblos 97 km
- Baalbek 99 km
- Caesarea Maritima 109 km
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- 12.000
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