A 3,800-year-old mudbrick structure is being excavated in the Bronze Age acropolis at Tel Shimron in Israel, and it’s pretty strange. There are no rooms. It has walls up to four feet thick and just one passageway wide enough for one person. At the end of the passage, it takes a sharp left and then broadens into a monumental corbelled arch that supports the ceiling as stairs go underground. Where the stairs go has not yet been determined, as removing the rubble covering them could be dangerous. The sediments that filled the corridor and archway date to 1800-1750 BCE, so the building was likely intentionally sealed soon after it was built. This is responsible for a high state of preservation, and the researchers believe it also hints at a cultic significance. They plan to dig from the outside to see where the stairs lead. I’m excited to find out what’s down there!