Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city
Israeli archaeologists on Sunday unveiled the remains of a 5,000-year-old city they said was among the biggest from its era in the region, including fortifications, a ritual temple and a cemetery.
"We have here an immense urban construction, planned with streets that separate neighbourhoods and public spaces," Yitzhak Paz of the Israel Antiquities Authority told AFP at the site near the Mediterranean in the country's centre.
He called it a major discovery in the region from the Bronze Age.
The archaeological site known as En Esur "is the largest site and the most important from that era" in the region, said Itai Elad, another archaeologist overseeing the excavation.
"It is 650 dunams (0.65 square kilometres), meaning double what we know."
A ritual temple was found within the ancient city along with rare figurines with human and animal faces, they said.
It also included burnt animal bones in a stone basin that they called proof of sacrificial offerings.
The excavation allowed for an ...