Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered a part of the traditional city partitions in Jerusalem.
The section dates back to the 2nd century BC, and was likely built following the famous revolt of the Maccabees against the Seleucids.
Described as being one of the crucial complete and longest wall sections present in Jerusalem, the invention was found on the grounds of the Tower of David, which itself is inside a historic a part of town known as the Kishle.
Dr Amit Re’im and Dr Marion Zindel, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said of the find, “The newly uncovered section, known in ancient historical sources because the ‘First Wall’, is especially impressive in each its size and its degree of preservation – over 40 meters long, and about 5 meters wide.
“The wall is meticulously built of huge, heavy stones, with a chiselled boss typical of this era.
“Originally, the huge wall rose to a height of greater than ten meters! But today, only a stump stays.
“During the Second Temple period, the Hasmonean city wall also surrounded Mount Zion, where sections of it have been found, in addition to within the City of David, within the Citadel of David courtyard, and alongside the outer façade of the western city wall of Jerusalem’s Old City.”
One other point of note was that the wall appears to have been deliberately and systematically destroyed, somewhat than simply suffering the results of two,000 years of neglect.
It is unknown who ordered the destruction of the wall, although archaeologists think it could have been the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus I, possibly as a part of a peace cope with a rival.
The other suspect is Herod the Great, the person who in line with the gospels ordered the slaughter of the innocents so as to kill the young Jesus.
Herod conquered Jerusalem with the assistance of the Romans and had the last Hasmonean king executed. It is feasible that Herod ordered the destruction of Hasmonean constructing projects so as to make a political statement that the times of the Hasmoneans were truly over.
During the Eighties archaeologists found a large number of ancient missiles at the bottom of one other a part of the wall. The catapault stones, arrow heads and sling bullets are believed thus far to a Hasmonean era siege of town.

