The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently announced that, during preparations for the construction of a new neighborhood at Naḥal Qomem (also known as Gat-Govrin or Zeita), a 5,500-year-old flint workshop was unearthed. The excavations produced various significant finds, including long flint blades, as well as large stone cores used to produce them (a rare find). The excavation directors—Dr. Martin David Pasternak, Shira Lifshitz, and Dr. Nathan Ben-Ari—are quoted in the IAA’s press release (see below) as stating,
The discovery of a sophisticated workshop indicates a society with a complex social and economic structure already at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. This is an important find in that it deepens the understanding of both the beginnings of urbanization and of professional specialization in the Land of Israel—phenomena that led to the establishment of large settlements and that catalyzed the creation of new social structures.
The rise of urbanism in the Early Bronze Age is reflected in Genesis 10, the Bible’s “Table of Nations.”
Source:
- https://www.iaa.org.il/en/page/news-index (See An ancient blade manufacturing workshop was uncovered in Kiryat Gat—The first ever discovered in southern Israel, [July 27, 2025])
