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Gezer
One of the markers of the 10th century in Israel is the presence of 6-chambered gates and their attached casemate walls. They can be found primarily at three important sites: Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer. These at Gezer are a beautiful example, with the city’s main drainage channel—which would have run under the street—exposed.
Gezer is a beautiful, soaring tell bordering both the hill country and the Shephelah. On one side, the Mediterranean can be seen sparkling in the sun, while movements through the hill country to the east would have been easily spotted. The site also boasts a beautiful 6-chambered gate. This calls to mind I Kings 9:15-16, when Solomon rebuilt the city—the dowry of Pharaoh’s daughter.
At the site of Gezer in the Shephelah, one cannot miss the beautiful limestone mazzeboth (standing stones), the tallest measuring around 12 feet high. These particular standing stones were likely erected during the Canaanite period, but they likely served to memorialize an event, such as a treaty which may have taken place at Gezer. This illustrates the common practice mentioned in the Biblical narrative when individuals set up a stone of memorial, such as Jacob in Bethel (Genesis 28:18) and Samuel with the Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12, literally meaning “rock of help”).
