The Last Gate Has Closed: Revisiting the Late Iron Age Fortress Gate at ʿEn Ḥaẓeva

This article discusses the monumental Iron Age four-chambered gate excavated some 30 years ago at ʿEn Ḥaẓeva. Since the completion of the site’s excavation, only a handful of preliminary papers were published by Rudolph Cohen and Yigal Yisrael, the excavators of the site on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, addressing in passing the stratigraphical and architectural settings of the gate. Some scholars have questioned these descriptions, suggesting that they may not accurately reflect the true nature of the remains. In recent years, the ʿEn Ḥaẓeva finds have been the focus of extensive scientific analyses in preparation for the publication of Cohen and Yisrael’s excavations. The time has finally come to place the Iron Age fortress gate accurately within its archaeological and stratigraphical context.