Image Details

PHOTO BY M. ENIUKHINA/COURTESY OF THE TELL ES-SAFI/GATH ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION. By the tenth and ninth centuries BCE, Gath had become one of the most prominent cities in the southern Levant, as evidenced by its enormous size, temples and public buildings, and monumental fortifications, including this massive wall and tower complex (where Jeff Chadwick of the Gath excavation team is standing) excavated near the city’s northern gate/entrance. Archaeologists believe the site, which included both an upper and lower city extending across more than 125 acres, was the capital of a powerful kingdom that controlled much of the Shephelah and the coastal plain.