Sha’ar HaGolan, while famous as the archetype Yarmukian (Pottery Neolithic) site, featuring one of the earliest occurrences of ceramic production. It also contains a Pre-Pottery Neolithic C phase, characterized by the absence of pottery. The site is located in the central Jordan Valley, ca. 1.5 km south of the Sea of Galilee, on the north-western bank of the Yarmuk River.

Relevant publications:
Rosenberg, D., and Garfinkel, Y. 2014. Sha’ar HaGolan 4. The Ground-Stone Industry: Stone Working at the Dawn of Pottery Production in the Southern Levant. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Rosenberg, D. and Garfinkel, Y. 2023. Alternating mediums? The introduction of pottery to the southern Levant and its impact on the production of stone vessels: Sha‘ar Hagolan as a case study. In: Nieuwenhuijse, O.; Bernbeck, O. and Berghuijs, K. (eds.) Containers of Change - Ancient Container Technologies from Eastern to Western Asia. Leiden: Sidestone Press.