Ancient site · Settlement
ʿAin Mallaha (Eynan)
Also known as Eynan
A Natufian village of round stone-based huts beside the old Lake Hula in northern Israel. Its people still hunted and gathered wild food, yet they lived here all year round, one of the earliest examples of settled life before farming.
They buried their dead under and around the houses. One grave held an elderly person with a hand resting on a puppy, among the oldest evidence for a close bond between people and dogs.
- Dates
- c. 12,400–10,200 BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 33.09° N, 35.58° E
How we know
No writing existed; the village is known from excavations and radiocarbon dates on bones and charcoal.
Nearby sites
- Raqefet Cave c. 12,000–9700 BCE (Natufian burials)
- ʿAin Ghazal c. 7250–5000 BCE
- Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) c. 10,000 BCE – Persian period; tower and wall c. 8000 BCE
- Ugarit (Ras Shamra) c. 7000–1185 BCE; golden age c. 1500–1200 BCE
- Palmyra early 2nd millennium BCE – 1932 CE; height 1st–3rd century CE
- Petra c. 4th century BCE – 7th century CE; Treasury 1st century CE
Related
- Natufian culture archaeological culture