Ancient wall built by Hasmoneans discovered in Jerusalem

Well-preserved segment of wall constructed by the Maccabees more than 2,100 years ago uncovered at the edge of the Old City of Jerusalem.

By World Israel News Staff

A segment of an ancient wall, dating back to the latter part of the second century BCE, has been discovered in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In a statement released Monday morning, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that it recently unearthed a large segment of a wall built by the Hasmonean dynasty over 2,100 years ago.

The discovery was made on the grounds of the Tower of David, adjacent to the citadel, within the historic complex known as the Kishle in the Old City.

“The newly uncovered section, known in ancient historical sources as the ‘First Wall’, is particularly impressive in both its size and its degree of preservation – over 40 meters long, and about 5 meters wide,” said Dr. Amit Re’im and Dr. Marion Zindel, IAA excavation directors.

“The wall is meticulously built of large, heavy stones, with a chiseled boss typical of this period. Originally, the massive wall rose to a height of more than 10 meters. But today, only a stump remains.”

“During the Second Temple period, the Hasmonean city wall also surrounded Mount Zion, where sections of it have been found, as well as in the City of David, in the Citadel of David courtyard, and alongside the outer façade of the western city wall of Jerusalem’s Old City.”

Josephus, the first-century A.D. historian, described the wall in detail, documenting its course and its gates, and contended that it was “impregnable” with 60 towers standing along its length.

“There is much more to this wall than meets the eye,” said Re’im and Zindel. “It is clear that it was systematically destroyed and razed to the ground.”

“This is predetermined destruction – not the result of the ravages of time, nor of a random enemy attack, but a deliberate execution of a well-planned action. This raises questions about who was responsible for the wall’s destruction.”

The researchers offered two possible explanations regarding the wall’s destruction.

One possibility is that the wall was dismantled by the Hasmoneans themselves, as part of an agreement with Antiochus VII Sidetes.

Antiochus, one of the heirs of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, known from the events of Hanukkah, sought to conquer Jerusalem and besieged the city in 134-132 BCE.

Josephus writes that in response to the siege, the Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus I reached a peace agreement with Sidetes.

In the armistice agreement, Sidetes demanded that Jerusalem dismantle its fortifications as a precondition for lifting the siege.

Alternatively, the researchers said King Herod, in seeking to distinguish his rule from that of the Hasmonean kings, may have deliberately destroyed their construction projects, including their monumental city wall, as a political statement.

In the past, material evidence of the struggles between Hasmonean forces under John Hyrcanus and Antiochus Sidetes’ Seleucid Greek armies was discovered very close to the site of the newly uncovered section.

In excavations conducted in the 1980s at the base of the “First Wall,” Renee Sivan and Giora Solar discovered a large Hellenistic-period cache of hundreds of catapult stones, arrowheads, slingstones, and lead bullets.

The researchers identified them as clear evidence of Antiochus VII’s siege. The heavy weapons of destruction raining down on the city failed to penetrate the mighty Hasmonean wall and fell at its base.

“This segment of Jerusalem’s ancient city wall uncovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority is tangible and moving evidence of Jerusalem’s might and stature during the Hasmonean period,” said Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu.

“The archaeological discoveries allow us to connect to the historical continuity that binds us – generations of Jews, to Jerusalem, and demonstrate and exhibit our proud heritage to the world. It is exciting to see how the stories of Hanukkah are coming to life on the ground.”