Uncovered on Mount Zion: the southern wall of Jerusalem from the Hasmonean period

Newer archaeological remains were also discovered at the site - bottles of wine, beer and shoes left by members of a British research expedition that excavated the site at the end of the 19th century * The site was then covered with dirt and rediscovered

An exciting discovery in Jerusalem - impressive remains of the first wall of the city second house (dated to the 2nd century BC - 70 AD), built by the kings Hasmoneans And which was destroyed during the days of the Great Rebellion, as well as the remains of a wall from the Byzantine period (640-324 AD) that was built over it, were uncovered in a large excavation that is being conducted these days on Mount Zion. These fortification lines bounded Jerusalem from the south, during the periods when the ancient city was at its peak.

The new findings were presented yesterday (Wednesday) at a press conference held at Mount Zion. The excavation has been going on for about a year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger from the Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority and financed by the Elad association.

The project is being carried out as part of the master plan of the "Surrounding the Walls of Jerusalem" National Park, which aims to preserve the area around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open tourist area. In the future, the remains of the ancient walls will be incorporated into the promenade, which will surround Mount Zion from the south, continue along the northern bank of the Ben Hinnom Gorge, and end in the City of David.

The wall lines delimiting Mount Zion from the west and south were discovered and excavated for the first time at the end of the 19th century (in the years 1894-97), by a British research expedition, led by researcher Frederick Jones Bliss and his assistant architect Archibald Dickey. The work method they used was the digging of a system of shafts, which were connected by underground tunnels, near the outer face of the city walls.

Over the years, their excavation was filled with soil, and about a year and a half ago, when the archaeologists sought to determine the location of the areas excavated a century ago, they were unable to locate the remains of the excavation. Using maps of the old excavation, which the digger Yehiel Zelinger cross-referenced with updated maps of the area today, the tunnel that the expedition dug was located, and in it "souvenirs" left by the diggers, in the form of a shoe of one of the workers, the head of a gas lamp that was used to light the tunnels - and even fragments of beer and wine bottles from before 120 sleep…

According to Yehiel Zelinger, the director of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, "The location of the two walls on Mount Zion confirms our hypothesis regarding the expansion of the city towards the south during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its peak size. During the Second Temple period, the city, and the temple at its center, was a pilgrimage center for Jews from all over the ancient world, and during the Byzantine period, it was a source of attraction for Christian pilgrims, who followed the story of the life and death of their Messiah. The exposure of the wall from the Hasmonean period, and right above it - the fortification line from the Byzantine period, dating 400 years later, proves that this is the best topographical location for the city's defense. The findings indicate that although the builders of the Byzantine wall did not know about the existence of the wall from the Second Temple period, they built it exactly along the same route." According to Zelinger, "the fact that the remains of the first wall were preserved to a height of three meters, after 2100 years, is amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete sections of Hasmonean-style construction in Jerusalem."

The wall from the Byzantine period

Christian pilgrims from the 5th and 6th centuries CE attribute the construction of the wall route to Empress Eudokia, the estranged wife of Emperor Theodosius II. According to the sources of this passage, the reason for the construction of the wall was the verse: "Thou hast done good to Zion, thou shalt build the walls of Jerusalem" (Psalms 3.30:2.50). In the translation of the Bible into Greek, the word "willingly" was translated similarly to the name of the empress, so she concluded that the reference was directed directly to her, and that she was meant to build the walls of Jerusalem. The excavation revealed a section of the city wall, with a maximum height of XNUMX m and a width of about XNUMX m. The wall was built from stones that were produced and cut especially for its construction, although stones that were probably collected from nearby ancient fortifications can also be seen.

The fortification from the Second Temple period

To the south of the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period, at a depth of about 4 m below the height of its base, a tower was uncovered, dating from the Hasmonean period (Tek. Beit Shani), which was preserved to a height of 3.20 m. The tower was built on the mother rock, which has been straightened and leveled to perfection, of large stones with prominent chisels in the center, and without escape material between them. The construction method of the tower - "heads and patinas", is typical of the Hasmonean period. The tower was part of the route of the "first wall", described by Yosef ben Matityahu, other sections of which are known at the base of the western wall of the Ottoman wall, in the Tower of David and in other excavations in the Jewish Quarter. The fills of dirt and pottery that approach the wall prove that the wall was used until the days of the Great Revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.
The stones of the wall were taken for reuse, apparently, for the purpose of building 'Ilia Capitolina', the Roman colony founded by Emperor Hadrian on the ruins of Jerusalem in 131 CE.

From a press release of the Antiquities Authority