Archaeologists uncovered a massive moat in Jerusalem’s City of David, offering a new understanding of the ancient fortifications that protected the city’s Biblical rulers, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Sunday.
Numerous attempts to trace the route of Jerusalem’s northern fortification were made during the past 150 years, but findings from current excavations finally reveal the extent of a moat much larger than previously thought.
“It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah,” said excavation directors Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north; the upper city where the palace and the temple were located,” they said.