The remains of the southern wall of Jerusalem which was built during the Second Temple Period (536 BC - 70 AD) have been uncovered on Mount Zion, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.
The 2,100-year-old wall, which was built by the Hasmonean kings of ancient Israel and was destroyed during the Jewish revolt against the Romans that began in 66 AD, is located just outside the present-day walls of the Old City in Jerusalem.
The wall, which is believed to have run six km around Jerusalem, was uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion.
Israeli archeologists who started the ongoing excavation also uncovered the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine Period (324-640 AD) that was built on top of the Second Temple wall.
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.
Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that "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."
Source: Xinhua
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