5,500-Year-Old Blade Workshop Unearthed Near Biblical Gath Reveals

Arkeonews ^ | 28 July 2025 | Oguz Buyukyildirim

[fidelis]

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, Israeli researchers have unearthed a 5,500-year-old flint blade workshop near Kiryat Gat, southern Israel—the first of its kind ever found in the region. Announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Early Bronze Age site sheds new light on the technological ingenuity and social complexity of ancient Canaanite civilization.

The excavation, carried out at the Naḥal Qomem site—also referred to as Gat-Govrin or Zeita—revealed a full-scale production center where highly skilled craftsmen manufactured long, razor-sharp flint blades. This prehistoric workshop marks a major milestone in understanding the early development of urban society and professional specialization in the Levant.

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The site’s location adds an extra layer of historical intrigue. Modern-day Kiryat Gat, where the excavation took place, lies near the biblical city of Gath—home of the Philistine warrior Goliath. In the Bible, Gath features prominently in the stories of David, King Saul, and the Israelite-Philistine conflict.

During King Saul’s time, according to the Book of Samuel, Israelites lacked access to iron weapons, which were monopolized by the Philistines. Ironically, thousands of years earlier, the ancestors of this region had mastered flint technology capable of producing lethal, precision tools—long before metalworking became widespread.

[fidelis]

[fidelis]

Sorry, I should have tagged this as an ‘excerpt’ and maybe provided an additional link at the bottom, as is customary.

[Red Badger]

[BenLurkin]

Investors who got in on the ground floor made a killing. So to speak.

[Red Badger]

PinGGG!........................

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[Verginius Rufus]

"Tell it not in Gath..." (II Sam. 1.20).

It would be cool if they found the golden mouse or the golden hemorrhoid (I Sam. 6.17).

Gath was Goliath's home town.

[fidelis]

I’ve always had trouble picturing what a golden hemorrhoid would look like. Never mind. I don’t want to know.

[Verginius Rufus]

I was in the third grade, I think, when I first encountered that passage in the Bible and had no idea what it meant--the translation I was reading may have had something like "emrods." The Septuagint has hai hedrai, "the seats" (which can be used of a person's posterior).

[fidelis]

That’s a little easier to picture, though also none too pleasant.