Following the division of the kingdom of Solomon in 930 BCE, Jeroboam established a cult at Dan as an alternative to the one at the Temple in Jerusalem.  He placed a golden calf in the city and built a house of high places.  In the Hellinistic period, the cultic precinct was surrounded by a wall that is visible to this day.  A bilingual (Greek-Aramaic) inscription found at this site attests to the sanctity of the precinct.

"Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan."   2 Kings 10:29