A Puzzling 1,300-Year-Old Trade Complex Uncovered Beneath a Bus Terminal in Israel

A routine salvage excavation ahead of construction of a new bus terminal in Ramat Gan, Israel, revealed a surprising discovery: an industrial and commercial complex dating back 1,300 years to the early Islamic period. Digging for several months in the parking lot of the city’s Winter Stadium, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered evidence of workshops, trade, and economic activity. According to Yoav Arbel, one of the excavation directors, this find offers insight into the economic activities of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates. So far, archaeologists have exposed only part of the complex, leaving its true size and purpose unclear. 

Unexpected Discovery Reveals a Vast Early Islamic Commercial Complex

Arbel, who led the excavation along with Lior Rauchberger, noted that the find was unexpected: “We expect to find archaeology here, but we did not expect to find an entire commercial and industrial complex from the seventh and eighth centuries AD. The whole thing is so well organized, it is clear that engineers planned it, and that the government probably was involved as well.” 

He pointed out that the complex features a network of straight streets that intersect at 90-degree angles and are lined with rooms that once served as shops or warehouses. The complex also contained plastered industrial facilities, large pottery kilns, and installations apparently used to produce or process liquids, although researchers have not yet determined what substances were involved.