A huge Stone Age settlement has been unearthed in Jerusalem.This large settlement, theorized to have been the home of around 2,000 to 3,000 people was discovered in Motza (3 miles near Jerusalem). Archaeologist and excavation director Jacob Vardi shared some details with CNN :
Believed to have been inhabited 9,000 years ago, the site has yielded thousands of tools andornaments, including arrowheads, figurines and jewelry. The findings also provide evidence of sophisticated urban planning and farming, which may force experts to rethink the region's early history, said archeologists involved in the excavation.
Archeologists have since found a large collection of buildings just below the ground's surface. As well as private homes, the excavation revealed the remnants of public facilities and spaces used for rituals and burials.
Describing the site as the largest of its kind "not just in Israel but in the Southern Levant," Vardi said in a phone interview that the settlement would have been home to 2,000 and 3,000 people, adding: "In comparison to other settlements (from that time), it's like a very big city."
image credit: GALI TIBBON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images via CNN