A hand carved in rock on Sultan Suleiman Street in Jerusalem (Photo: Emil Eljem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Fragments of the fortifications of the ancient Jerusalem walls and a mysterious handprint carved into the rock were uncovered near the Nablus Gate and the Lions Gate in archaeological excavations by the Antiquities Authority.
The excavations, which took place along Sultan Suleiman Street, were done in preparation for infrastructure and development works by the Moriah Jerusalem Development Company.
During the excavations, sections of the deep moat canal that surrounded the city in order to protect it, beginning in the 10th century AD, and perhaps even earlier, were uncovered.
In one of the sections, a chiseled palm print was discovered in the wall of the trench, the composition of which is unknown.
Sultan Suleiman Street, along which the Nablus Gate and the Flower Gate are located, runs adjacent to the ancient northern wall of the city of Jerusalem.
The hand carved in the wall of the moat (photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
A view of the excavation from inside the moat, on the left on the wall you can see the sign of the chiseled hand (photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
Zubair Adavi, the director of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, recently excavated the moat that is located just below the street.
According to Adavi, "People don't know, but this busy road goes over a huge moat. In fact, it is a huge trench, cut in the rock, which is at least 10 meters wide and from 2 to more than 7 meters deep at the deepest point. The moat ditch dates back to before About 1,000 years, starting from the 10th century AD, and it surrounds the entire old city like a ring. Its function was to prevent an enemy who was worried about the city from approaching the wall and breaking in. People know the moat from movies from fortresses and castles in Europe - where it is usually full of water.
Here it was dry, but gentle - due to its depth and width, it was a serious obstacle that slowed down the movement of the soldiers."
The walls of Jerusalem and its impressive gates that we see today were built in the middle of the 16th century by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the First.
"The walls that stood here in the Middle Ages - from the 10th century AD, were much stronger, and even before that a huge moat surrounded the city walls," says Dr. Amit Ram, Director of the Jerusalem Area at the Antiquities Authority. "In an era of knightly battles, swords and arrows and horsemen storming, Jerusalem's fortifications were formidable and sophisticated, and they included a number of walls and elements designed to stop the large armies that stormed the city," he says.
"Whoever wanted to conquer ancient Jerusalem in the Middle Ages had to pass through a deep moat and two thick walls. All the while, the city's defenders rained down fire and brimstone from the walls. It was a real hell! And if that wasn't enough, the city's fortifications included hidden tunnels, which were also exposed on by the archaeologists of the Antiquities Authority in previous projects. From these tunnels, the defenders of the city emerged. They struck the enemy, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared back into the city - through those elaborate tunnels."
Zubair Adavi, director of the excavation on Sultan Suleiman Street in Jerusalem (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
A hand carved in rock on Sultan Suleiman Street in Jerusalem (photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
The excavation in Sultan Suleiman.
To the left on the wall you can see the sign of the carved hand (photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
Dr. Ram expands: "The historians who accompanied the First Crusade describe how the Crusaders arrived here, in July 1099. They stood exhausted in front of the huge moat we uncovered, and only after five weeks were they able to cross it, with trickery and deceit and at a heavy blood price, while absorbing Heavy fire from the city's defenders, both Muslim and Jewish."
During the excavations, an ancient, mysterious handprint carved into the rock was discovered on the side of the moat. At this stage, the researchers have not yet deciphered the mystery of the carving. "We do not know whether the handprint was carved as an act of vandalism, a boring prank, or - whether it symbolizes something and actually points in some direction?" say the researchers.
According to Eli Escozido, director of the Antiquities Authority: "Many dreamed and fought for Jerusalem. When you stand in front of these archaeological findings, you can understand the magnitude of the events and upheavals that this city has gone through. You can imagine the bustle of battle and almost smell the plumes of smoke. Almost every day we uncover a piece of its glorious history of Jerusalem, and this time - we are witnessing its rich military history. We will make every effort to make it accessible and present to the public."
Zubair: "People don't know, but this busy road goes over a huge moat" (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yuli Schwartz)
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