Pre-historic Sites: Ubadiyya, Sha'ar Hagolan, Mount Carmel
Pre-historic Sites: Ubadiyya, Sha'ar Hagolan, Mount Carmel is part of the Tentative List in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.Click here for a short description of the site, as delivered by the State Party
| Year | Decision | Comments |
| 2000 | Tentative list | Submitted as tentative site by State Party |
Reviews
Assif Am-David (Israel):
The caves on Mount Carmel near Mearot river at the Carmel National Park are the most accessible ones of these three sites. The road leading there starts near the artist settlement of Ein Hod (and the nearby refugee village of Ein Hud). The caves are a bit too heavily reconsructed to my taste. However, their discovery was a significant breakthrough and there are informative texts available at the site. Best known of the three caves is the Tabun cave with relics of both Homo Sapiens and a Neanderthal )the only place in the world where the two might have met). What I don't understand is why the nearby Kebara Cave, where the so far best preserved Neanderthal skeleton was discovered, is not proposed in this serial nomination.
The other sites proposed are Shaar Hagolan and Obadyah. The first is a kibbuz at the fields of which a major neolithic settlement was unearthed on the bank of the Yarmuk river. The culture manifested in this settlement was named after the river - the Yarmukan culture. About a dozen of similar sites have been unearthed since, none of them as large as the original one. Lately, major permanent construction have been revealed, testifying that this might have been the centre of this ancient culture. The Kibbuz has a small interesting museum about the findings but there is no access to the site itself.
Obadyah was the oldest human site outside of Africa until a recent descovery in Georgia but the site is poorly maintained and difficult to find. You need to take the road encircling Ein Zera and then cross a bridge go straigt and left past a tell then cross a small water chain and there you are. You can see the original floor as well as animal bones on the site. If you're interested in other findings from this site visit nearby Gordon House at Kibbuz Deganya A where many of the tools found there are stored. Deganyah is on the T list on its own right, by the way. Date posted: May 2008
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