Appearing to be a one-phase settlement, Atlit-Yam represents a short period of occupation before the sea encroachment leading to the abandonment of the village around 6300 BC. Its current location is off the coast of Atlit in present-day Israel.
Atlit-Yam, underwater ritual structure made of stones.
The site, dating back to 6900 – 6300 BC, locates at a depth of 32 ft under sea level and covers an area of 430,556 square ft.
Swamps along the Israeli coastal plain, under the influence of tectonic tilting and climate changes, began to evaporate at the beginning of the Holocene.
Neolithic people settled in the reclaimed land along the retreating shoreline during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and later Pottery Neolithic Periods until a rise in eustatic sea levels submerged the ancient settlements to a depth of 26-39 ft. under the surface.
