Ancient 1,300-Year-Old Industrial and Commercial Complex Discovered Beneath Israeli Stadium

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have uncovered a well-planned industrial and commercial complex dating back over 1,000 years beneath the Winter Stadium parking lot in Ramat Gan. The excavation, conducted ahead of a new bus terminal construction by Netivei Ayalon Company, revealed streets, kilns, ovens, and numerous industrial installations from the 7th or 8th century CE.

Dr. Yoav Arbel and Lior Rauchberger, excavation directors, described the site as an organized complex with straight intersecting streets lined by rooms that served as shops or storage, plastered industrial facilities, and ceramic kilns. The site was likely engineered by regional authorities and strategically located near a main road connecting Jaffa, Ramla (then the district capital), and Jerusalem, possibly along a secondary route. The fertile land and water sources nearby supported its function.

Researchers suggest the complex might have been a major trade and industrial station or part of an as-yet-undiscovered settlement. It operated for about 150 years before abandonment under unknown circumstances. The site was resettled in the 10th century during the Fatimid period, with new residential buildings, production facilities, and numerous clay ovens. It was deserted again by the late 11th century before the Crusader conquest.

Artifacts found include intact pottery, oil lamps, tableware, bronze cosmetics tools, iron sickles, hammers, nails, dozens of coins, and many local and imported pottery and glass shards, reflecting the culture and economy of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. The later residential phase corresponds to the Fatimid era. The population of the region at the time was ethnically and religiously diverse, including Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Samaritans, though no clear evidence of the inhabitants' identities was found at the site.

This discovery sheds new light on the historical landscape beneath a modern sports venue and provides valuable insights into the region's early medieval urban and economic life.