Excavating an Ancient City Wall

One morning a number of us were pulled away from our regular excavation areas and sent to clear a section of the ancient city’s outer wall.

Here is another view of us at work.

Clearing topsoil away from the Iron Age city wall of Khirbet Qeiyafa. Photo by Royce Chandler.

Here is how the wall looked after we cleared away the topsoil.

A section of Khirbet Qeiyafa's Iron Age wall, built around the time of King David. This section is near the southern gate of the city. Notice how the wall is built on the bedrock. Photo by Royce Chandler.

Khirbet Qeiyafa’s walls were built on bedrock for at least two reasons.

1. The Iron Age city (built ca. 1000 B.C.) was the first significant thing constructed on the site.
2. Building on bedrock defends against enemy attempts to tunnel under the defenses. It is difficult and time-consuming to tunnel through solid stone.

The Iron Age walls are remarkably well-preserved in many places. This season I have helped to uncover city walls that are around 8 feet high. It’s a lot of digging, but the architecture is beautiful. I’ll soon try to post a photo or two of the walls in my area.