Four-Chambered Gate

The 9th-century gate complex, with its four chambers, is the largest and best preserved of its kind. Its two southern chambers measure about 3.5 m x 9.7 m in size, while the chambers on the northern side measure roughly 3.5 m x 10.6 m. It is significant that the total area of the four-chambered gate exceeds that of the monumental six-chambered gates the Bible (dubiously) attributes to Solomon at Megiddo, Gezer, and Hazor (1 Kgs 9:15). All four chambers are lined with thick walls of dressed basalt stones, which in some places are preserved to 3 m in height. The walls separating the chambers are up to 2.4 m thick. At the threshold of the gate, a rounded doorstop remains in situ at the center. A piece of wood was recovered from this level. Identified as oak, it was subjected to C-14 analysis and found to be contemporary with the gate complex, likely witnessing to the material construction of its door. In Chamber 4, which is located just behind the northern tower and bamah, several IA II ritual vessels were found, including libation bowls and incense sifters. Excavations in Chamber 4 also yielded a piece of inscribed pottery, or ostracon. The phrase “b’shem,” or “in the name of,” accompanied by a figure that calls to mind the Egyptian ankh, was found inscribed on the fragmented handle of a jug.

A recessed area runs along the inside walls of the gate complex about 1.5 m above the pavement, in which wooden beams would have been inserted. Engineers in this earthquake-prone region understood that wooden beams laid along a course of dressed stones would effectively absorb seismic shocks that would otherwise cause severe damage to stone walls. Although the original beams would not have survived Tiglath-Pileser III’s fiery siege of the city, the surviving walls attest to having served their intended purpose. Restoration experts have since inserted new wooden beams in these niches. Also in recent seasons, probes have been launched in each of the four chambers, revealing more of the 10th-century city underneath.