Archaeologists excavating an area being prepared for an industrial zone uncovered a 5,000-year-old human settlement, including what may be the oldest public building found in the Israel, Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday.

Among the finds at Hurvat Husham, near Beit Shemesh, is a large, well-preserved structure — possibly a temple — that served a central community function of some kind.

“The size of this structure that we uncovered, its broad walls, the benches inside it and other variables indicate that it is an important and exceptional structure with a public function – perhaps a temple,” said excavation managers Ariel Shatil, Maayan Hamed, and Danny Benayoun.