Excavations ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood in the southern Golan Heights exposed an Iron Age fortified complex from the time of King David (11th to 10th centuries BCE). The fort may have been built by the kingdom of Geshur, an ally of King David.
     Occupying a strategic location on the small hilltop above the El-Al canyon at a spot where it was possible to cross the river, 1.5-metre thick walls of large basalt boulders encompassed the hill. Finds include a large basalt stone next to the entrance with a schematic engraving of two figures with horns and open arms.
     In 2019, a horned figure with arms spread wide identified as representing the Moon-God Cult was found on a cultic stone stele at Bethsaida, just north of the Sea of Galilee, erected next to a raised platform adjacent to the city gate. The fortified city of Bethsaida is considered by scholars to be the capital of the Aramean Kingdom of Geshur that ruled the central and southern Golan 3,000 years ago. Cities of the Kingdom of Geshur have been unearthed along the Kinneret shore, including Tel En Gev, Tel Hadar, and Tel Sorag, but few sites have been discovered on the Golan.

Edited from JewishPress.com (11 November 2020)