City Gate

View of the city gate that is located on the east side of the Tel. View looking from inside to outside the city — looking east. The remains in this area date to the late eighth century B.C. — the days of the prophet Isaiah.

The thin metal water pipe in the image is directly over the path/street that led into and out of the city. Below it, almost in the center of the image, a small stone arch area is visible, and below it is the city drain that is filled up with loess soil. This drained the city, from right to left, and led down to the well.

In the upper right portion of the image two chambers of the city gate are visible. The three mud brick piers (two of them quite large — reconstructed) supported the superstructure of the gate. In the chamber on the right, a plastered bench is clearly visible. The city gate was where the elders sat, where business was conducted, legal cases decided, etc.

If you look carefully at the right most pier, just below it is a curvy black line. Everything below this line is original, above it reconstructed.

For a map and brief introductory comments about Beersheba Click Here.