The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the results of excavations within the Kishle, an Ottoman-era prison structure within the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem. Archaeologists unearthed the foundations of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) city wall, which was built in the second century BC. Excavations revealed that the 16-foot (5-meter) wall had been systematically disassembled, leaving only the foundation stubs. The archaeologists offered two possible explanations for this: the wall may have been dismantled by the Hasmoneans in exchange for peace with Antiochus VII Sidetes, as described by Josephus (Antiquities, 13.230–253), or King Herod may have ordered its destruction to distinguish his rule from the Hasmonean kings and allow the building of his palace in its place.
Source: https://www.iaa.org.il/en/page/news-index (See “An Impressive Section of Jerusalem's Hasmonean Period City Wall - From the Longest and Most Intact Segments Ever Discovered - Was Unearthed in the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum” [December 8, 2025])
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