- Joined
- Feb 9, 2004
- Messages
- 17,078
Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed what is believed to be a massive wall fortification built by the Assyrians.
Archaeologists in Israel believe a newly discovered ancient fortification corresponds with a Bible story of an Assyrian takeover.
Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed what is believed to be a massive wall fortification built by the Assyrians.
Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed part of what they believe was once a massive wall fortification built by the Assyrians nearly 2,700 years ago.
If so, the structure would correspond with the Assyrian takeover of the region as described in the Book of Isaiah.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University, who uncovered the wall, described its composition in a release Monday as "mud-brick." Located in the contemporary city of Ashdod, the fortification reportedly is 12 feet wide and 15 feet tall and is covered in layers of mud and sand that stretch for hundreds of feet.
Researchers wrote that in the 8th century B.C., the whole crescent-shaped structure would have protected an area that spanned more than 17 acres. Archeologists believe it was built during a time when the Assyrian kingdom, which stretched into Africa and the Middle East, was facing a rebellion from the king of Ashdod, Yamani.
"The fortifications appear to protect an artificial harbor," Tel Aviv University's Alexander Fantalkin, who's leading the project, said in the release. "If so, this would be a discovery of international significance, the first known harbor of this kind in our corner of the [region]."
Archaeologists are trying to piece together precisely how events during that time period led to the construction of the fortress wall.
"An amazing amount of time and energy was invested in building the wall and [embankments]," Fantalkin said in the release.