Watchtower From Time of King Hezekiah Uncovered by IDF Soldiers | Published on Jun 19, 2019
Posted on 06/24/2019 9:24:27 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
A watchtower dating from the time of the Kingdom of Judah (8th century BCE - during the reign of King Hezekiah) was recently uncovered by archaeological excavations carried out by IDF soldiers, together with the Israel Antiquities Authority...
The tower, whose dimensions in antiquity are estimated to have been 15 x 10.5 ft, was erected on a high elevation site, and served as an observation point on the Hebron Mountains...
It was built using very large stones, weighing some 8 tons each. Its height today reaches around 6 ft. According to Sa'ar Ganor and Valdik Lifshitz, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, "the strategic location of the tower served as a lookout point over the Philistine enemy, one of whose cities was Ashkelon. In the days of the First Temple, the Kingdom of Judah built a range of towers and fortresses as points of communication, warning and signaling, to transmit messages and field intelligence. This tower is one of the observation points connecting the large cities in the area, located in the Beit Mirsim (Mirsham), Tel Eton and Tel Lachish sites. In ancient times, to transmit messages, beacons of smoke were lit during the day and beacons of fire at night. It is likely that the watchtower now uncovered was one of the towers that bore some of the beacons."
Activity in the ancient tower ceased on the eve of the expedition of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, in Judah in 701 BCE. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the entrance to the tower was blocked, and the force stationed there apparently converged on one of the nearby fortified towns. From biblical testimonies and archaeological findings in the area, we know that Sennacherib's attack virtually destroyed Judah, including 46 cities and 2,000 villages and farms.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishpress.com ...
Watchtower From Time of King Hezekiah Uncovered by IDF Soldiers | Published on Jun 19, 2019
Wow, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been handing out those things for that long?
:-)
Well, I want to know who covered it up in the first place.
Amazing!
Thanks for posting.
who...in the 8th century BC, was investing in the manpower and equipment to mobilize 16000 lbs of stones up to “a high elevation site”.
Doesn’t pass the sniff test....
So the Jehovah’s Witnesses were around then?
:^D
They’re working.....wait for it.....
All Along The Watchtower
L
Aw, you beat me to it! LOL
Fresh in my mind. They had set up TWO recruiting stations where I was taking a walk on Saturday.
Father time.
My pleasure.
my favorite cover, although I generally don’t care if the sound is turned down...
...for some reason...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2nMo-Tt9R0
Bttt
There must some kind of way out of there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
