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Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures

Iron I stone enclosures in the Jordan Valley shaped like a giant sandal

Conquest & Judges · temple / altar, city / site · Debated · found 1990

Aerial view of a low stone wall enclosure shaped like a foot
Photo: Lipkin.Aaron · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Found 1990 — Adam Zertal and the Manasseh Hill Country Survey (University of Haifa), identified during the survey 1990–2008; Bedhat esh-Sha'ab and Yafit 3 excavated 2002–05 under Dror Ben-Yosef with Zertal

Where Bedhat esh-Sha'ab, el-Unuq, Yafit and other sites in the Jordan Valley (West Bank (Palestinian Territories))

Dates from c. 1250–1000 BCE (founded late 13th century; one site used into the 9th–8th century) · Iron Age I · Conquest / Judges

Now at Sites in the field (open)

How Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures was found

During survey work in the Jordan Valley and eastern Samaria, Zertal's team identified several large stone enclosures whose outline resembles a human foot, with a paved walkway around the inside of the wall. Excavation showed little domestic use, suggesting gathering places rather than villages.

What it is

Five or six enclosures built of fieldstone walls, 100 m or more long, laid out in the shape of a sandaled foot. Pottery is Iron I. Inside are open spaces, sometimes a raised platform or circle of stones, and a processional path along the wall.

Why it matters for the Bible

Zertal proposed these are 'gilgalim,' the camps or assembly sites of Yehoshua 4–5, and linked the foot shape to the biblical image of taking possession of land by treading it (Devarim 11:24). The idea is attractive but unproven: the foot shape is more obvious from the air than on the ground, and there is no inscription. They do show organized communal activity in the very region where the Conquest narrative begins.

Debated: The enclosures are genuine Iron I structures; their foot shape and link to Gilgal are interpretations not widely accepted.

The Hebrew word: geel-GAHL

גִּלְגָּל

גִּלְגָּל is pronounced geel-GAHL and means circle; Gilgal (Strong's H1537).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Camp at Gilgal after crossing the Jordan (Joshua 4:19-20) · Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal (Joshua 5)

Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures in Scripture

Deuteronomy 11:24 'Every place where the sole of your foot treads shall be yours'; Zertal saw this idea behind the foot shape.

Joshua 4:19-20 Israel camped at Gilgal and set up twelve stones; the enclosures are proposed as such camp sites.

Questions people ask

What is Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures?
Five or six enclosures built of fieldstone walls, 100 m or more long, laid out in the shape of a sandaled foot. Pottery is Iron I. Inside are open spaces, sometimes a raised platform or circle of stones, and a processional path along the wall.

When was Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures discovered?
It was found in 1990 by Adam Zertal and the Manasseh Hill Country Survey (University of Haifa), identified during the survey 1990–2008; Bedhat esh-Sha'ab and Yafit 3 excavated 2002–05 under Dror Ben-Yosef with Zertal, at Bedhat esh-Sha'ab, el-Unuq, Yafit and other sites in the Jordan Valley.

Where is Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures today?
Sites in the field (open).

Which Bible verses does Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures relate to?
Deuteronomy 11:24, Joshua 4:19-20.

Is Foot-Shaped 'Gilgal' Enclosures authentic?
The enclosures are genuine Iron I structures; their foot shape and link to Gilgal are interpretations not widely accepted.

Related discoveries

Sources

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