The Road of the Millennia

"The Road of the Millennia" (Derech Hadorot)
In 1975, Dr. Reuben Hecht proposed the establishment of an outdoor archaeological museum which would include authentic reconstructed buildings representing various periods throughout the history of Eretz-Israel. The project suggested by Dr. Hecht was based on locating the remains of ancient buildings facing destruction in sites around Israel, and transporting them from their original site to the ground allocated to the outdoor museum, where they would be reconstructed along walking trails surrounded by natural forestation. The site approved was in the Carmel National Park, close to the University of Haifa.

Dwelling from the Early Canaanite (Bronze) II - III Period, 2200-2700 BCE
A circular room at the center of the building was used for living. Various constructions surrounding the room were used for household tasks, such as grinding food and cooking and as tool sheds. The foundation of the house is stone, while its upper section, which was not preserved, was probably made of cloth and leather. The roof was constructed from tree branches.

Dwellings and Burial Complex from Ramat Matred (Negev Highlands), Middle Canaanite (Bronze) I Period, 2200-2000 BCE
The complex consists of a circular courtyard surrounded by several circular living and working areas. At some stage, two dwelling rooms became tumuli (from the Latin tumulus, meaning a mound). The tumuli graves in the Negev Highlands are made from a chest whose floor and walls are constructed from flat stone slabs. The deceased was laid out in this chest in a fetal position. The chest was covered by stone slabs, and stones and earth were piled on top and around the chest.

An Agricultural Farm from Ramat Matred (Negev Highlands), Israelite Period (Iron Age), 1000-900 BCE
The farmhouse and its adjacent buildings were transported to the Road of the Millennia from the airfield at Ramat Matred in the Negev Highlands. The farmhouse includes several buildings that which were found during excavations on both sides of one of the wadis in Ramat Matred.

An Israelite House from Ramat Matred (Negev Highlands) Israelite Period (Iron Age), 1000-900 BCE
The farmhouse structure is very similar in plan to the four-room house that which characterizes houses built throughout the country during the biblical period. The middle area (room) is an open courtyard (patio), allowing access to the two side rooms flanking it, and to a third area at the back of the house. This back area was probably the main room of the house (bedroom). The side rooms, as well as the outer yards around the house, were used for various tasks dealing with agricultural produce, such as crushing, baking, cooking, weaving, spinning and storing.

Dwellings in the Agricultural Farm from Ramat Matred (Negev Highlands), Israelite Period (Iron Age), 1000-900 BCE
The dwellings were attached to the Israelite farmhouse, and included small houses and working areas.

Israelite Dwellings from Ramat Matred (Negev Highlands) Israelite Period (Iron Age), 1000-900 BCE
The house has two rooms and a courtyard in front that contains a circular installation attached to the walls and probably used as a cooking area. At the rear of the house (south), two installations, which were used as a workshop or tool shed, are attached to the wall. The foundation of the house is stone, while its upper section was probably made of cloth and leather. The roof was constructed from branches.

Granaries for Storing Crops from Israelite Fortress in the Israelite Period (Iron Age), 800-700 BCE
In the Negev, near an important crossroad, three Israelite fortresses (1000-600 BCE), built one on top of another, were excavated. Four granaries were found outside the fortress built during the reign of Usiyahu (8th century BCE), and were transported to the outdoor museum site.

Oil Presses from Hurbat Castra, Byzantine Period, 4th-7th Centuries BCE
Hurbat Castra, located at the southern approaches to Haifa, is on the planned route of the Carmel Tunnel. Therefore, archaeological salvage digs were conducted at the site by the Israel Antiquities Authority, from 1993-1997. A Roman-Byzantine city was discovered at the site. The economy of the city was based on the production of wine and olive oil in large quantities, testimony to which are eleven grape presses and seven oil presses. Two of the oil presses were transferred by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s preservation unit in 1997 to the Road of the Millennia in the Carmel National Park.

Oil Extraction
Olive oil was extracted in two stages: crushing the olives and pressing the olive-pulp. Two installations were built for these activities:
1) a crushing mill composed of a crushing basin and a millstone;
2) a lever and weight press.

Oil Press
By a turn of the winch, the rope is shortened and coiled around the winch. The stone weights are raised and the beam is lowered. Pressure is created on the baskets of olive-pulp and the resulting liquid flows into a collecting vat. Warm water, fed into the vat, facilitates the collection of the oil.

Tomb from Palmahim (Southern Coastal Plain)
Chalcolithic Period (4500 – 3300 BCE)

The tomb was transferred to "Derech Hadorot" from a cemetery unearthed north-east of Kibbutz Palmahim. The cemetery included tens of tombs, rectangular or round in shape, built of sandstone.

The tombs' openings, facing north, were all sealed by sandstone slabs. Stelae made of flat stones were discovered in some of the tombs.

The burial practices varied and included burial inside a pit dug in the tomb floor, burial inside jars and secondary burial in stone ossuaries (chests).