ERUSALEM, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have uncovered a huge fortification dating back to the Middle Bronze Age outside the Old City of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Wednesday.
The structure is estimated to be over 3,700 years old and ascribed to the Canaanites, said the IAA, adding that "this is the first time that such massive construction that predates the Herodian period has been discovered in Jerusalem."
Located in the City of David, a rich source of archaeological findings in the south of the Old City, the wall-like fortification rises to a height of eight meters, and the known section of it extends about 24 meters, which is believed to be just a small part of the whole construction, according to the IAA.
"We are dealing with a gigantic fortification, from the standpoint of the structure's dimensions, the thickness of its walls and the size of the stones that were incorporated in its construction," said Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, director of the excavation team, adding that "this is the most massive wall that has ever been uncovered in the City of David."
The ancient project appears to be a protected, well-fortified passage between a spring tower and a fortress on the top of a hill nearby, as such a construction "is a plausible solution that explains the innate contradiction of the situation whereby the spring ... is located in the weakest and most vulnerable place in the area," said Reich.
"The new discovery shows that the picture regarding Jerusalem's eastern defenses and the ancient water system in the Middle Bronze Age 2 is still far from clear," he added, predicting that "extremely large and well-preserved architectural elements" are yet to be uncovered in the area.
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