While the fortified settlement has already been dated to approximately 11th – 9th centuries BC, it remains unclear exactly what people actually manned it.
An ancient fort that dates back to the times of King David nearly 3,000 years ago, discovered during salvage excavations in Golan Heights, may well be the earliest fortified settlement to be found in that region, The Times of Israel reports.
The find has also reportedly been “tentatively linked” to the Geshurite people whose capital is “recorded in the Bible as having been located nearby, to the north of the Sea of Galilee”.
The archaeologists also discovered what they believe to be an altar, located near the aforementioned etchings, “upon which was found another seemingly ritual object of a small figure holding what looks to be a drum”.
As Dr. Ron Be’eri, Israel Antiquities Authority’s scientific adviser in the northern region, explained, it remains unclear who exactly manned the fort.
He further explained that the dating of the fort to circa 11th-9th centuries BC was actually based on evidence such as pottery sherds that appear “somewhat comparable” to those discovered at Israelite sites dated back to circa 10th-9th centuries BC.
And while he noted that the fort belonged to the Geshurite people, the newspaper points out that “there is scant physical evidence of these peoples during this era, and no outside textual documentation other than various citations in the Hebrew Bible”.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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