Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., September 04, 2009 Elul 15, 5769 | | Israel Time: 03:10 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Massive Canaanite walls reveal Jerusalem's might long before King David was crowned
By Nir Hasson

Extensive fortifications recently discovered in the archaeological excavation in Silwan in East Jerusalem go back about 3,700 years, to the biblical period of the Patriarchs, revealing that Jerusalem at that time was significantly larger and stronger than previously believed.

According to the director of the excavation, Prof. Ronny Reich, the fortifications - the largest ever discovered in this area - were meant to create a protected link between the fortress-city in the area, known as the City of David, and the Siloam Spring. The fact that the spring was located outside the city walls was a major weakness in the city's ability to defend itself, Reich says.
Advertisement

"The construction of a protected passageway was a possible solution to the contradiction of the spring - the source of life for the inhabitants of the fortress in case of emergency - being located in the most inferior and vulnerable place in the area," Reich, of the University of Haifa, explained. In later periods, too, Jerusalem's rulers attempted to connect the spring to the city via walls and tunnels.

No fortifications of this size have ever before been discovered from the time of the First Temple, considered the zenith of Jerusalem's development in the biblical period. The next period of such massive construction would not be for another 1,700 years, during the time of King Herod in the Roman period.

The Canaanite walls the archaeologists discovered are about two meters apart, rise to a height of some eight meters in some places and are made of gigantic stones, three to four meters thick. About 24 meters have been exposed, but excavators say this is only one-third of their original length.

Excavation of the walls has been underway for about a year by the Israel Antiquities Authority, funded by Elad, the association that runs the nearby City of David antiquities site.

The walls have been dated by pottery to the period archaeologists call the Middle Bronze Age, better known as the "Period of the Patriarchs." At that time, Jerusalem was a kind of city-state - a fortress surrounded by farming plots. The massive nature of the fortifications has convinced archaeologists that the city was apparently larger and stronger than they had previously believed.

"To move such large stones, you need know-how and you need power," Reich says, "because a group of people doing the building needs a society to support them economically and a ruler to tell one group to work and the other group to support them."
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Our ladies of terror
Faces of female Palestinian suicide bombers placed on paintings of Virgin Mary.
Norway divestment
Israel summons Norway envoy over divestment from arms firm.
Special Offers
Advertisement
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Holidays are here
Minerals Aromatics Body Lotion for free! Click here.
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Marina Royale
Your Luxurious Suite While staying in Israel
Table to Table
Help to Israel food bank
4XP
Trading Platform Online Currency Trading
More Headlines
02:45 IAF bombs tunnel linking southern Gaza to Israel
22:37 Steinitz: Shalit campaign doing more harm than good
21:31 Israel summons Norway envoy to protest divestment from arms firm
23:40 Sa'ar: Netanyahu saving Israel from global isolation
20:42 Israel slams Spanish publication of Holocaust denier interview
19:25 Court: Why won't state combat illegal Palestinian construction?
22:41 Israel union drops exhibit portraying terrorists as Virgin Mary
23:52 TV ROUND-UP: Netanyahu 'ready for settlement freeze,' Ethiopian kids row continues
21:36 Ahmadinejad: Iran will not bow to Western deadlines for talks
21:08 Russian expert in 'hijacked' Mideast-bound ship case flees country
21:23 WATCH: F16I makes emergency landing at Negev base
20:18 Israeli researchers developing program to decipher ancient texts
00:28 Cop gets 15 months in prison for killing Israeli Arab
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved