REMAINS OF THE DAY

ISRAELI ARCHEOLOGISTS UNCOVER 2, 100-YEAR-OLD JERUSALEM WALL, WHEN THE CITY WAS AT THE LARGEST SIZE; WORKERS' REMAINS INDICATE ACTIVITY FROM EARLIER DIG

The remains of the 2,100-year-old southern wall of Jerusalem that was built during the Second Temple period have been uncovered, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced earlier this month.

The wall, which was destroyed during the Great Revolt against the Romans that began in 66 CE, is located on Mount Zion just outside the present-day walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It adjoins a Catholic cemetery which was built in the last century, and where the Righteous Gentile Oskar Schindler is buried.

The exciting and important discovery, announced September 3 in Jerusalem, constitutes 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, as well as the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period (324-640 CE) which was built on top of it.

The excavation has been underway for a year-and-a-half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The lines of the wall that delineate Mount Zion from the west and the south were first discovered and excavated in 1894-1897 by the Palestine Exploration Fund, under the direction of the American archaeologist Frederick Jones Bliss (1857 -1939) and his architect assistant, Archibald Dickie. Remains from the dig were found by the Israeli archeologists, and included a laborer's shoe (above left) and a fragment of a beer bottle, marked "A. Wigolik" and "Jerusalem" (above right).

According to Zelinger, "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 Jesus. 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."

Center above: A bowl shard from the Late Roman Period (3-4 BCE); below: an aerial view of the general excavation area and the Mount Zion Valley.

[Author Affiliation]

By EDGAR ASHER

ISRANET CORRESPONDENT