Tel Dan Nature Reserve

Tel Dan is a beautiful nature reserve providing a variety of trails along with a biblical archaeological experience.  At the heart of the park is Tel Dan, the capital of the ancient northern kingdom.  Things we saw included a High Place, ancient city gates, and other interesting finds. The Dan River, one of the sources of the Jordan, flows through the reserve, its water coming from the snowmelt of nearby Mount Hermon.  

Waters that feed the Jordan River

Tel Dan is famous for its impressive archaeological digs, which cover two main periods: the time when it was a Canaanite city named Laish, about 4,000 years ago, and the era when it was inhabited by descendants of the tribe of Dan and given a new name.  Portions of Tel Dan have been reconstructed, following decades of excavation.

Following the death of King Solomon, the Israelites split into two separate kingdoms: Judah and Israel. Jeroboam, who reigned over Israel, worried that when his people traveled to the Jerusalem Temple they would transfer allegiance to Judah’s King Rehoboam. So “after seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

The ritual site was impressive. It was in continual use all the way through the Greek and Roman periods. Steps lead to the reconstructed High Place, a square measuring 19 meters by 19 meters. Below the steps are remains of what archaeologists believe to have been a place set aside for the golden calf.

That this was the location of the Biblical city of Dan was confirmed when archaeologists found a stone in the sanctuary inscribed in Greek and Aramaic: “to the God who is in Dan”.