Israeli archaeologists investigated with astonishment this Wednesday the 25th the meaning of a
hand carved on the wall of an ancient moat
, near the
Old City of Jerusalem.
The carving was found in a 1,000-year-old ditch during work to widen a road in east Jerusalem near Herod's Gate, the
Israel Antiquities Authority
said .
The researchers believe that their findings are elements of the ancient Jerusalem fortifications.
"In the course of the excavations, part of a deep defensive moat surrounding the city walls was uncovered, probably from the 10th century AD and possibly earlier. At a point excavated in the wall of the moat the inexplicable trace of a carved hand," says the IAA statement revealed by the site itongadol.com.
According to Israel Antiquities Authority excavation director Zubair Adawi, the discovered moat lies just below the street.
EFE
The moat is located just below the main street of Sultan Suleiman, adjacent to the city walls.
It was discovered by the IAA director of excavations, Zubair Adawi.
"People don't know that this busy street is built directly over a huge moat, a huge channel cut into the rock at least 10m wide and 2-7m deep. The moat, which encircles the entire Old City, It dates back about 1,000 years, from the 10th century AD or earlier, and its function was to prevent the enemy besieging Jerusalem from approaching the walls and breaking into the city," he explained.
The moat was dug in stone around the entire Old City, with a width of 10 meters and between two and seven meters deep, although without water.
According to the Antiquities Authority, it took the Crusaders five weeks in 1099 to cross that moat and
break through the defenses of the holy city
.
And while the utility of the moat was self-evident,
the meaning of the hand is completely unknown.
"It is a mystery, we have tried to solve it,"
Zubair Adawi, director of excavations for the Antiquities Authority, said in a statement.
The moat, which surrounds the entire Old City, dates back about 1,000 years, and its function was to prevent the enemy besieging Jerusalem from approaching the walls and breaking into the city.
EFE
Archaeologists wonder who carved the hand into the rock, and what it meant.
Some believe that it could be a joke, but everything is under study.
"Many dreamed and fought for Jerusalem, and the city's fortifications are a silent testimony.
Archaeological findings allow us to visualize the dramatic events and upheavals that the city suffered.
One can really imagine the tumult and almost smell the smoke of the battle.
We are unraveling the intense military history of the city on a daily basis, and we will go to great lengths to expose the findings to the general public,” said Eli Escuzido, Director of the IAA.
For the time being, the moat and mano were covered over to allow road works to continue just below the walls surrounding the Old City, built in the 16th century by order of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
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