Great News from Jerusalem!
Israel Antiquities Authority
Press Office
Press Release
The Southern Wall of Jerusalem that Dates to the Time of the Hasmonean
Dynasty was Discovered on Mount Zion (9/3/08)
An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains
of the wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second
century BCE-70 CE) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was
destroyed during the Great Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall
from the Byzantine period (324-640 CE) which was built on top of it,
were uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway
on Mount Zion. The lines of these fortifications delineated Jerusalem
from the south in periods when the ancient city had reached its
largest size.
The new finds were presented today (Wednesday) at a press conference
that was held on Mount Zion. The excavation has been in progress for
the past year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel
Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the
Nature and Parks Authority and with financial support provided by the
Ir David Foundation.
The project is being implemented as part of the master plan for the
Jerusalem City Wall National Park, the purpose of which is to preserve
the region around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open area for
tourism. In the future the remains of the ancient city walls will be
incorporated in a promenade that will encircle the southern side of
Mount Zion and will continue along the northern bank of Gai Ben Hinnom
and terminate in the City of David.
The lines of the wall that delineate Mount Zion from the west and the
south were first discovered and excavated at the end of the nineteenth
century (1894-1897) by the Palestine Exploration Fund, under the
direction of the archaeologist Frederick Jones Bliss and his architect
assistant, Archibald Dickie. The work methods they employed involved
the excavation of shafts that were linked by subterranean tunnels
which ran along the outer face of the city walls.
Over the years their shafts and tunnels have filled up with soil and a
year and a half ago when archaeologists were asked to determine the
location of the areas that were excavated one hundred years ago they
were unsuccessful in doing so. By cross-referencing the plans of the
old excavation with updated maps of the area from today archaeologist
Yehiel Zelinger was able to locate the tunnel which the British
expedition had dug. There remained in it “souvenirs” that were left
behind by the early excavators in the form of one of the laborer’s
shoes, the top of a gas light which was used to illuminate the
tunnels, as well as fragments of beer and wine bottles from 120 years
ago.
According to Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the
Israel Antiquities Authority, “Having located the two city walls on
Mount Zion corroborates our theory regarding the expansion of the city
toward the south during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its
largest size. In the Second Temple period the city, with the temple at
its center, was a focal point for Jewish pilgrimage from all over the
ancient world and in the Byzantine period it attracted Christian
pilgrims who came in the footsteps of the story of the life and death
of their messiah. The exposure of the Hasmonean city wall and the line
of fortifications from the Byzantine period, which is dated 400 years
later and is right on top of the former, prove that this is the most
advantageous topographic location for the defense of the city. The
artifacts indicate that in spite of the fact that the builders of the
Byzantine wall were unaware of the existence of the wall from the time
of the Second Temple they constructed their wall precisely along the
same route”. Zelinger adds, “The fact that after 2,100 years the
remains of the first city wall were preserved to a height of three
meters is amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete
sections of construction in the Hasmonean building style to be found
in Jerusalem”.
Additional Information and Details
The Byzantine Period City Wall
Christian pilgrims of the fifth and sixth centuries CE ascribe the
line of the city wall’s construction to the Empress Eudocia, the
estranged wife of Emperor Theodosius II. According to the historical
sources of this period, the city wall was erected because of a
biblical verse that appears in the Book of Psalms (51:20), “Do good in
thy favor unto Zion; Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem”. In
translating the Bible to Greek the word that meant “do good in thy
favor” was translated with a word that greatly resembled the name of
the empress. Eudocia therefore concluded that the reference was
explicitly intended for her and that it was she who was destined to
build the walls of Jerusalem. In the excavation a section of the city
wall was uncovered that rises to a maximum height of 3.30 meters and
is approximately 2.50 meters wide. The wall was built of stones that
were specifically quarried and dressed for this purpose; however, one
can also discern some of the stones in its construction were probably
taken from nearby ancient fortifications.
The Fortifications of the Second TemplePeriod
South of the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period and at a
depth of approximately 4 meters below the elevation of its base, a
tower that is preserved to a height of 3.20 meters was exposed which
dates to the time of the Hasmonean Dynasty (the Second Temple period).
The tower was built on the bedrock which was straightened and made
fairly level. It was constructed of large stones that are
characterized by a dressed boss in their center, with no bonding
material between them. The “header-stretcher” construction method used
in building the tower is typical of the Hasmonean period. The tower
was part of the line of the “First Wall” that is described by
Josephus. Other sections of the “First Wall” were revealed at the base
of the western wall of the Ottoman city wall, in David’s Citadel and
in other excavations that were conducted in the Jewish Quarter. The
soil fill and the pottery sherds that abut the city wall prove that it
was used until the time of the Great Revolt and the destruction of
Jerusalem and the temple in the year 70 CE. Afterwards, the stones of
the wall were taken for secondary use, probably in order to build
“Aelia Capitolina”, the Roman colony which the emperor Hadrian
established on the ruins of Jerusalem in the year 131 CE.