The Middle Bronze period, Ashqelon was a prominent port town, founded ca. 1950 BCE, with a population of roughly 15,000. Its inhabitants farmed for a living and exported their agricultural produce - wine, olive oil, wheat, sheep and cattle - to other regions around the Mediterranean. Ashqelon, as a central port located on the ancient Via Maris, was threatened by Egypt, and in ca. 1850 BCE was fortified with a moat, a city wall and arched gates, built of Kurkar rocks and mud-bricks. The stone-built rampart supporting the wall was 45 feet high and 135 feet wide, and encircled the city in a 1.25 mile arch.
The entrance gate into the city consists of a vaulted corridor, with an arched gate at each end. The gate, approximately 7 feet wide and almost 14 feet high, is the oldest known arched gate in existance. It served as an entrance through which passed locals, and oxen-and-donkey carts laden with goods, seafarers and traders.
The excavations in Tel Ashqelon were carried out by a Harvard University team, under the direction of archaeologist Professor Laurence Steiger. The reconstruction of the gate was carried out by the conservation department of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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