Results of the Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan: at the Dawn of Urbanization in Palestine

The archaeologists and technicians of Rome �La Sapienza� University spent four unforgettable seasons at Tell es-Sultan together with the Palestinian friends of the Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage[1], and the scientific results of such excavations � which were announced at the International Congresses of Near Eastern Archaeology held in Rome, Copenhagen and Paris � changed several interpretations concerning the Bronze Age city, which flourished on the limestone bank nearby �Ain es-Sultan for more than one millennium[2]. The Expedition updated the chronology of the constructive phases of the Early Bronze Age city-walls and of the Middle Bronze Age ramparts, consistently demonstrated the existence of a Lower City, unfortunately destroyed by modern building activities, and discovered huge buildings on top of the site and at its southern foot.

A brief summary of the discoveries is offered hereby, which is aimed at giving an idea of the monumental evidence available from a site which deserves, through the UNESCO nomination, not only the worldwide fame (which, actually, it already has), but also the world help to become the core of the first Palestinian National Archaeological Park.