Dan
was
one
of
the
flourishing
Canaanite
city-states
during
the
first
half
of
the
Middle
Bronze
Age.
The
fortified
city
had
massive
earth
rampart
supporting
a
core
wall
of
10m
high
and
10m
wide.
A
unique
archaeology
finding
was
the
arc
gate
made
of
mud
bricks,
built
around
1750
BCE.
The
Dan
gate
considered
being
the
oldest
architectural
arc,
until
years
later
an
older
one
unearthed
in
Ashkelon.
By
the
second
half
of
the
Middle
Bronze
Age,
under
the
Egyptian
domination,
the
city
impoverished.
During
the
Iron
Age
II,
Dan
was
one
of
the
major
cities
in
the
Kingdom
of
Israel.
The
Bible,
tells
us
that
Dan
was
the
northernmost
settlement
in
the
Kingdom
of
Israel
and
the
place
of
the
kingdom's
northern
cultic
center.
The
most
intriguing
archaeological
discovery
in
Tel
Dan
was
an
inscription,
probably
written
by
Hazael
King
of
Aram
Damascus
in
840
BCE,
which
mentions
“The
House
of
David.”
The
inscription
fueled
an
already
fierce
debate
among
scholars
about
the
existent
of
the
ancient
united
monarchy
of
Israel.
The
city
was
destructed by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III in 732 BCE.
Today
you
can
see,
among
other
things,
the
Canaanite
gate
and
the
Iron
Age
II
impressive
fortifications,
the
multi-gates
entrance
and
the
cultic
center.
You
can
stroll
through
the
park
footpaths
and
enjoy
the
Dan
springs,
fed
by
the
melting
snow
of
the
nearby
Mount
Hermon.
The
springs
are
a
primary
water
source
of
the
Jorden
River.
The
significant
amount
of
water
out
of
the
springs,
running
through
this
small paradise is unique in Israel
.
