Tel-Dan Canaanite Gate

Near Kibbutz Dan, Upper Galilee, Israel
18th century B.C.
Three mudbrick arches that span a gateway are the world's oldest known arches made of this material. The gate, set on sloping earth ramparts, was constructed in the second millennium B.C. as a defense for the Canaanite city of Laish. The site had been occupied since the fifth millennium B.C. and is identified with the biblical Dan and reputed to be where King Jeroboam reinstituted worship of the golden calf in the tenth century B.C. Excavations carried out from 1966 to 1999 revealed city walls, an Israelite sanctuary, sacred pillars, a tomb, artifacts, and the 151/2-meter-wide, 7-meter-tall, 131/2-meter-deep gate complex. The arches survived the millennia covered in soil. Deterioration of the mudbrick began soon after excavation in 1979 uncovered the eastern face of the gate. For protection, the Israel Antiquities Authority backfilled the central arch and western face of the gate and erected a roof over still-visible surfaces. Exposure to the elements is jeopardizing the gate and arch. Even though a conservation and management plan for the site has been devised, no work has begun.