Tell es-Sakan
تل السكن | |
![]() Tell es-Sakan in September 2017 | |
Location | Palestine |
---|---|
Region | Gaza Strip |
Coordinates | 31°28′33″N 34°24′17″E / 31.47583°N 34.40472°E |
Type | Settlement |
Area | 8–9 ha (20–22 acres) |
History | |
Material | Mud brick |
Founded | c. 3300 BCE |
Abandoned | c. 2250 BCE |
Periods | Bronze Age |
Associated with | Egyptians, Canaanites |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1999–2000 |
Archaeologists | |
Condition | Damaged |
Tell es-Sakan (Arabic: تل السكن, lit. 'Hill of Ash') is a tell (a mound created by the accumulation of the remains of consecutive settlements) about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Gaza City in Palestine. It was the site of two separate Early Bronze Age urban settlements. Ancient Egypt expanded its territory into southwestern Palestine in the latter half of the 4th millennium BCE and during this time Tell es-Sakan was founded as an administrative centre for the Egyptian colonies in the region. It was inhabited from about 3300 BCE to 3000 BCE. After a period of abandonment a Canaanite city was established around 2600 BCE and inhabited until about 2250 BCE.
Tell es-Sakan functioned as a trading post and was positioned along what was probably a dried-up channel of the Wadi Ghazzeh – a watercourse that is dry most of the year but in the Bronze Age would have been navigable. The settlement may have been a successor to Taur Ikhbeineh, a nearby site inhabited in the 34th century BCE. At its discovery, Tell es-Sakan was the oldest known Egyptian fortification and the only known Egyptian fortified settlement beyond the Nile Valley. A fortification of a potentially similar age was found at the ancient Egyptian settlement of Tel Erani in 2013. After the Canaanite city of Tell es-Sakan was abandoned in the 23rd century BCE Tell el-Ajjul was established 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the south, likely as a replacement.
The tell was discovered in 1998 during a building project and subsequently investigated as part of an international collaboration between Palestine's Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage and the French National Centre for Scientific Research. Though there were plans for further archaeological research, fieldwork halted after the 2000 season due to the start of the Second Intifada. Finds from Tell es-Sakan have been exhibited in France and Switzerland. The site covered around 8–9 hectares (20–22 acres), of which 0.14 hectares (0.35 acres) has undergone archaeological excavation; a much larger area has been destroyed as a result of construction and conflict. In 2017, the Hamas government's Land Authority began bulldozing part of the site to clear the way for building project, but halted following opposition from various groups, including the government's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Islamic University of Gaza. The site was further damaged as a result of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in 2023–25.
Location
[edit]Tell es-Sakan is located to the north of the present course of the Wadi Ghazzeh and is less than 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) inland from Palestine's modern Mediterranean coast. It is in the al-Zahra neighbourhood, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Gaza City.[1] Wadis are watercourses that are dry most of the year and are found in arid locations;[2] the Wadi Gazzeh in the Gaza Strip has a dry season typically beginning in May and lasting until September, and a wet season from October to April.[3] When Tell es-Sakan was rediscovered, the area was fertile and used agriculturally. The landscape includes a line of lithified sand dunes consisting of kurkar. One such dune concealed Tell es-Sakan so that the site's full extent is uncertain, but it covers an estimated 8–9 hectares (20–22 acres).[4] From the late 1990s al-Zahra developed as a residential area,[5] and population growth has led to homes being built close to the archaeological site.[6]
A tell is a mound created by layers upon layers of human occupation on a site over an extended period.[7] The mound rose more than 10 metres (33 ft) above the coastal plain.[8] In the Bronze Age the coast was closer to Tell es-Sakan than today, and the settlement likely possessed a harbour on a now silted-up channel of the Wadi Ghazzeh which was navigable to at least this point.[9] A change in the Wadi Ghazzeh's course may have led to Tell es-Sakan's final abandonment in the late 3rd millennium BCE.[10] The area was a frontier between ancient Egypt and Canaan, with both Egyptians and Canaanites inhabiting Tell es-Sakan in different stages of the city's history.[11]
History
[edit]The accidental exposure of the Early Bronze Age site during the construction of a housing complex brought to light the only settlement discovered in the Gaza Strip that was inhabited between 3300 BCE and 2250 BCE, with remains of mud-brick constructions and a wealth of other findings dating exclusively to that period. Tell es-Sakan was located near a ford on the coastal road leading to Egypt, the Via Maris, and has enabled archaeologists to study the interaction between Egypt and Canaan during the period the tell was occupied.[8][12][13][14] It appears to be the predecessor to Tell el-Ajjul, a major city of the 2nd millennium BCE located 500 metres (1,600 ft) further south.[11]
The site was occupied during two distinct periods: the lower levels of Sounding A[note 1] produced the earliest evidence of activity which dated to the end of the 4th millennium BCE and belonged to a city of the Egyptian Protodynastic Period – which corresponds to the Early Bronze Age IB period in the history of the southern Levant. The middle and upper levels of Soundings B and C belonged to a Canaanite settlement of the 3rd millennium BCE.[8] Remains of sheep, goat and cattle were discovered, as well as fish bones and shells. Wheat, barley, vegetables, olives, and grapes were cultivated.[15]
Egyptian city (3300–3000 BCE)
[edit]
The first settlement of Tell es-Sakan was established in about 3300 BCE. It was an Egyptian colony, and archaeologists discovered the remains of mud-brick buildings, defensive walls, and ceramic materials from this phase of habitation.[16] The remains provided dating evidence for activity at Tell es-Sakan through radiocarbon dating of seed samples and comparison of artefacts to other Egyptian archaeological sites.[17][18] Tell es-Sakan began as an unfortified settlement, and an enclosing wall was added later. The wall of the Egyptian city was initially 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) thick and then widened to 3.55 metres (11.6 ft). Tell es-Sakan's defences were then demolished and replaced with another wall, this time 3.8 metres (12 ft) thick and enhanced by a glacis.[19]
The excavators found the remains of houses and domestic structures. The oldest remains on the site had been damaged by the mechanical diggers. Though no single structure was fully excavated, some of the buildings had hearths and brick-built silos – the latter are typical of ancient Egyptian architecture. One building also had a feature that may be a bread oven.[20] The pottery associated with the first city were mostly (90%–95%) Egyptian in style, and at least three-quarters of the portable material culture was produced locally, emulating Egyptian styles.[21][22] Sherds of pottery bearing serekhs from wine jars were also recovered from the Egyptian phase of the site including one that may feature the name of Pharaoh Narmer who established the Egyptian First Dynasty. Serekhs were emblems bearing the names of pharaohs, and can help with dating activity at a site.[23]

The archaeologists who led the excavations at Tell es-Sakan, Pierre de Miroschedji and Moain Sadeq, proposed that there were three areas of Egyptian expansion into the southern Levant during the late 4th millennium BCE, and Tell es-Sakan was one of the major settlements in the region. Tell es-Sakan and the much smaller settlement at En Besor were part of an area of permanent Egyptian settlement. Extending north along the coast were areas of Egyptian influence (including sites such as Tel Erani and Ascalon), with Egyptian and Canaanite populations living in the same areas, sometimes with seasonal movement. Beyond this area, extending further north and east inland, sites such as Tell Abu al-Kharaz and Tel Megiddo had trading contacts with Egypt.[26] Taur Ikhbeineh was a nearby ancient Egyptian settlement inhabited during the 34th century BCE.[27] De Miroschedji and Sadeq suggest that Tell es-Sakan may have effectively been a successor settlement to Taur Ikhbeineh.[11] The exceptional use of fortifications may indicate that Tell es-Sakan was especially important in the region, and may have acted as the administrative centre of the colonial domain established by the Egyptians in southwestern Palestine. It functioned as a trading post and the quantity of wine jars discovered at the site led the excavators to suggest that wine from the region was being exported to Egypt.[28][8] Archaeobotanical evidence consisting of plant remains found at Tell es-Sakan demonstrates that the inhabitants consumed cereals, legumes, and figs.[28]
De Miroschedji suggests that Tell es-Sakan may correspond to the settlement of Wenet, an Egyptian fortified settlement recorded in the First Dynasty period.[29] Habitation at Egyptian Tell es-Sakan lasted until about 3000 BCE (the very end of Early Bronze Age I and the beginning of Early Bronze Age II).[30][note 2] This conclusion is based on a dearth of finds at Tell es-Sakan post-dating this period, either discovered through excavations or through recovery during the demolition of parts of the site.[32] The abandonment was likely peaceful and may have coincided with the beginning of the First Dynasty of Egypt, perhaps under the reign of one of the successors of Pharaoh Narmer, such as Hor-Aha or Den.[33][34]
Canaanite city (2600–2250 BCE)
[edit]
The Egyptian colonial domain in the region eventually disappeared and the site lay abandoned for several centuries. There were consequently very few active settlements in the southern coastal region during the Early Bronze Age II. Around 2600 BCE, during the Early Bronze Age III period and near the beginning of the Egyptian Fourth Dynasty, the Canaanites reoccupied the site and created a new fortified city that served as a capital.[8][36][37] At this point the Wadi Ghazzeh formed a natural border between Canaan and Egypt.[38] The earliest phases from the reoccupation of the site were found in 'Sounding C'; pottery vessels recovered from this area were Canaanite in style, and similar to pottery found at Tel Yarmuth dating from the Early Bronze Age IIIA.[39][38] Five levels of occupation have been found lasting about three centuries.[37]
De Miroscheji and Sadeq described Tell es-Sakan as having "both a strong local particularism and close ties with the sites of inner Canaan".[8] The walls enclosing the settlement at that time were 7.8 metres (26 ft) thick and built of sun-dried mud bricks[38] – larger than the walls of the Egyptian settlement. Based on the size of the defences, Tell es-Sakan was a major Canaanite settlement.[40] As well as the fortification the archaeologists found a residential area with buildings surviving in parts to a height of nearly 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). The walls and floors were limewashed. Despite the discovery of multiple buildings only one doorway was found, which suggests that these structures typically had entrances above ground-floor level. The excavators noted that "The overlapping of dwellings ... implies a high degree of urbanization".[41] At the edge of the excavated area was the corner of a building; though this was not excavated to determine its use, the thickness of the walls may indicate that it was a public building rather than a house.[42]

Animal bones found at Tell es-Sakan show that the consumption of pigs ceased during the Canaanite settlement, in contrast to the Egyptian settlement from which porcine bones made up 24% of the bones recovered from the site.[28][35] The archaeozoologist Naomi Sykes wrote that "The reasons for this shift are uncertain but it may reflect a change in cultural dietary preferences following the break in Egyptian occupation. Alternatively, it could be related to broader economic trends."[44] Due to Tell es-Sakan's position near a ford across the Wadi Ghazzeh, the city may have been attacked by Uni who was governor of Upper Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Pepi I Meryre in the late 23rd and early 22nd centuries BCE.[45][46] Uni conducted military campaigns against the Heriou-Sha, a people who lived in the coastal zone and de Miroschedji suggested that Tell es-Sakan was one of the settlements they inhabited.[47] The settlement was finally abandoned around 2250 BCE.[12]
The latter half of the 3rd millennium BCE (2500–2000 BCE) saw the widespread abandonment of large settlements in the Levant, a transition to smaller settlements, and possibly a resurgence in nomadic living.[48] The French archaeologist Pierre de Miroschedji hypothesised that a change in the Wadi Ghazzeh's course led to the abandonment of Tell es-Sakan in favour of Tell el-Ajjul,[10] about 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the south.[11] Another nearby site, al-Moghraqa, was occupied during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.[49][50]
Discovery and investigation
[edit]
In 1994 the newly formed Palestinian Authority established the Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage to manage cultural heritage in Palestine. The department later became part of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. This gave Palestinians a greater role in the investigation and interpretation of their heritage. On its inception the department had limited resources and few experienced staff, but with international collaboration in the space of fifteen years it had overseen 500 investigations in Palestine.[52] An increasing number of building projects led to more discoveries of archaeological sites in Palestine which needed to be recorded; Tell es-Sakan is one such site.[53]
Surveys of the region over the course of several decades failed to detect the tell. It was discovered by chance in 1998 during the construction of a housing complex on the south side of what was later understood to be a tell.[14] Tell es-Sakan was the first archaeological site discovered in Gaza that dates from the end of the Early Bronze Age I and Early Bronze Age II to III periods (spanning the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE) – a poorly represented span in the region's archaeological record.[54] The foundation trenches for the planned buildings exposed archaeological deposits but caused significant damage to the site in the process.[14]
Construction work was suspended to allow archaeological investigations.[8][55] Archaeologists Pierre de Miroschedji and Moain Sadeq led a three-week rescue excavation at Tell es-Sakan in September 1999. It was an international collaboration: Sadeq was director of the Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage and de Miroschedji was a director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.[56] Three boreholes were dug on the west side of the site; the extracted core samples demonstrated that the archaeological layers extended to a depth of 9 metres (30 ft) and established the chronology of the site.[57] The area was further investigated through trial excavations using the foundation trenches. Franco-Palestinian collaboration continued in 2000 with a large-scale excavation campaign involving three different areas on the west side of the site covering a total area of c. 1,400 m2.[58] Three areas were methodically investigated, allowing archaeologists to develop a broad chronology of the site. The excavated area referred to as 'Sounding A' in the published literature covered an area of 525 square metres (5,650 sq ft) and was excavated to a depth of 9 metres (30 ft).[59][12] Soundings B and C covered 425 and 400 square metres (4,570 and 4,310 sq ft) respectively.[60][40]
The discovery of large amounts of ash during investigations led to the site being named Tell es-Sakan,[61] meaning 'hill of ash'.[62] The defensive walls marked Tell es-Sakan as the oldest known fortified Egyptian site and at the time the only Egyptian fortified settlement beyond the Nile Valley.[16] In 2013, the wall of a fortification was excavated at Tel Erani – an ancient Egyptian settlement north-east of Tell es-Sakan and located in modern-day Israel – and thought to be of a similar age to the fortifications at Tell es-Sakan.[63]

The Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation starting in late 2000, led to the cessation of many archaeological projects in Palestine,[64][65] including the excavations at Tell es-Sakan.[62] Investigations by the Gaza Research Project at the nearby Bronze Age site of al-Moghraqa, which had been discovered by Sadeq in 1996, were also abandoned.[49] An exhibition titled "Mediterranean Gaza" of 221 items from archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip – including a selection of finds from Tell es-Sakan – was held at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris in 2000. When the Second Intifada began in September that year, the exhibition at the IMA had not concluded and Leila Shahid, the Ambassador of Palestine to France, arranged for the safe storage of the artefacts in Paris.[66][67] In 2007 the artefacts were transferred to Geneva for an exhibition at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire titled "Gaza at the Crossroad of Civilizations".[68][69] Though further field investigation was not possible, five seed samples recovered from Tell es-Sakan were radiocarbon dated in the 2010s.[17]
In 2022, the Gaza Maritime Archaeology Project (GAZAMAP) involving researchers based in Gaza and the UK conducted a field survey of Tell es-Sakan. GAZAMAP's objective was to evaluate the condition of various endangered maritime archaeological sites. The fieldwork was conducted by Ayman Hassouna of the Islamic University of Gaza who led a group of ten students. They identified surviving features that had been exposed on the site, and found material culture including pottery, flints, and stone tools. The discovery of large number of shells confirmed that the site was near the coast during its Bronze Age use. The project also identified priority areas for ongoing monitoring to safeguard the site.[70][71]
Later history and conservation
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Tell es-Sakan underwent significant changes in 2003–2004 and 2005–2014.[6] In the wake of the 2008–2009 Gaza War, the 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, and the 2014 Gaza War, displaced people temporarily lived on the east of the archaeological site.[62] Economic and demographic pressures, along with new building developments in the area, have also presented challenges to preserving Tell es-Sakan. The construction of new buildings for the University of Palestine in 2009 and 2012 encroached on the west and north sides of the tell, leading to the destruction of approximately one-quarter of the archaeological site.[62][72]
In August 2017, the Hamas government's Land Authority began to bulldoze the site to utilise the land as compensation for some of its senior employees. This led to protests and disagreements between the Land Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities which opposed the work. Pressure from the ministry, the Islamic University of Gaza and archaeologists led to a two-week pause. The work concentrated on the south side of the tell and had destroyed 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres).[62] A UNESCO representative, Junaid Sorosh-Wali, described the destruction as "disastrous for the archaeology and cultural heritage in Palestine".[62] The resumption of bulldozing led to further protests, including a social media campaign by a youth group which attracted further media attention.[73] Palestinian archaeologist Fadel al-Athal was able to recover fragments of pottery. Demolition halted in October 2017.[74] Satellite imagery from 2018 showed evidence of bulldozing, and by 2021 there had been further clearance, and a new road built running north-east to south-west.[75]
The Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2023–25 caused damage to many cultural heritage sites; UNESCO has verified damage at more than a hundred sites including Tell es-Sakan.[76] Using satellite imagery GAZAMAP found that residential buildings in the vicinity of Tell es-Sakan had been destroyed.[77] The extent of the damaged to the archaeological site remained uncertain as of November 2023.[78] From June to September 2024, an international team of researchers evaluated the impact of the war on heritage sites in Gaza using techniques including remote sensing and field observation. The survey found that Tell es-Sakan was severely affected by bomb and bulldozer damage. Bulldozers had demolished the east corner of the tell, possibly for a temporary military installation.[79] Finds from Tell es-Sakan were again displayed at the Institut du Monde Arabe in 2025 as part of the exhibition "Saved Treasures of Gaza: 5000 Years of History".[80] Composer Davide Verotta wrote a piece of classical music titled "Tell es-Sakan" as a protest against the Gaza war; it was performed at the San Francisco Community Music Center in March 2025.[81]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Three trenches were excavated referred to as 'Soundings' in the archaeological reports.
- ^ The Bronze Age in the Levant is split into three parts – Early, Middle, and Late – each with their own subdivisions. The boundaries between periods are often ranges, and for the Early Bronze Age (EBA) they are:[31]
- EBA I: 3900/3700 BCE to 3200/3000 BCE
- EBA II: 3200/3000 BCE to 2850/2600 BCE
- EBA III: 2850/2600 BCE to 2500/2300 BCE
- EBA IV: 2500/2300 BCE to 2200/1900 BCE (also referred to as the Intermediate Bronze Age or Middle Bronze Age I in different systems)
- ^ The indication of north on the plan differs from the plan in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.[8]
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, pp. 156–157.
- ^ Şen 2008, p. 10.
- ^ Zaineldeen & Aish 2012, p. 4.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Cuddy 2023.
- ^ a b Andreou et al. 2024, p. 21.
- ^ Matthews 2020, pp. 1053–1056.
- ^ a b c d e f g h de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2008.
- ^ Morhange et al. 2005, pp. 77–78.
- ^ a b Steel et al. 2004, p. 43.
- ^ a b c d de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, p. 155.
- ^ a b c de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, p. 157.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 100.
- ^ a b c de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2000b, p. 126.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 96 (the part about archaeo-zoology by Naomi Sykes is in English)
- ^ a b de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 80–85.
- ^ a b Dee et al. 2013, p. 2.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1009.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 80, 84.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 84–85.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 80–84.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, pp. 160–161.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 87–88.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, pp. 157, 161.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 89.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, pp. 163–165.
- ^ Oren & Yekutieli 1992, pp. 361, 363, 381.
- ^ a b c de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1018.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2012, pp. 272, 277.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 80 (see chart)
- ^ Sharon 2013, p. 63.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, pp. 165–168.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 90.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1025.
- ^ a b de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 96.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 101.
- ^ a b de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 93 (also see the chart on p. 80)
- ^ a b c de Miroschedji 2012, p. 276.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, p. 168.
- ^ a b de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1029.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 91–92.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 92.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1036.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 96–97.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2012, pp. 266, 284.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 101–102.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2015, p. 1037.
- ^ Sharon 2013, p. 52.
- ^ a b Steel et al. 2004, p. 37.
- ^ Bergoffen 2023, pp. 45–52.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2005, p. 158.
- ^ Hamdan Taha 2010, pp. 17–21.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2000b, p. 123.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2000b, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Matthews & Cornelia 2003, pp. 24–25, 34–37.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2000b, p. 127.
- ^ de Miroschedji & Sadeq 2000a, p. 30.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, pp. 78–79.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 80.
- ^ de Miroschedji et al. 2001, p. 94.
- ^ Clarke & Steel 1999, p. 215.
- ^ a b c d e f Akram 2017.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2015, pp. 1007, 1014.
- ^ El Khoudary 2019, pp. 91–92.
- ^ Pressman 2006, pp. 130–133.
- ^ de Miroschedji 2018.
- ^ Armaly 2008, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Armaly 2008, p. 43.
- ^ Hamdan Taha 2010, pp. 22.
- ^ Andreou, Elkhoudary & Hassouna 2024, pp. 4–8.
- ^ Andreou & Elkhoudary 2022.
- ^ Berretta & Barzak 2013.
- ^ al-Amoudi 2017.
- ^ Smith 2017.
- ^ Andreou et al. 2024, pp. 21, 23.
- ^ UNESCO 2025.
- ^ Andreou 2023, pp. 8, 10–11.
- ^ Geranpayeh 2023.
- ^ Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation 2025, pp. 29–32, 34, 389.
- ^ Institut du Monde Arabe 2025.
- ^ Wayne 2025.
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Further reading
[edit]- de Miroschedji, Pierre; Sadeq, Moain (2001), "Gaza et l'Égypte de l'époque prédynastique à l'Ancien Empire: Premiers résultats des fouilles de Tell es-Sakan", Bulletin de la Société Française d'Égyptologie (in French), 152: 28–52
External links
[edit]Media related to Tell es-Sakan at Wikimedia Commons
- Gaza Governorate
- Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC
- Populated places disestablished in the 3rd millennium BC
- 1998 archaeological discoveries
- Buildings and structures demolished in 2017
- Archaeological discoveries in Palestine
- History of Palestine (region)
- Archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip
- Archaeology of the Near East
- Bronze Age sites in Palestine
- Cities in ancient Egypt
- History of Gaza City
- Canaanite cities
- Tells (archaeology)