Ancient Greek Fortress Found in Jerusalem Parking Lot

Israeli archaeologists said Tuesday they have found the remnants of the Acra, a fortress built by the Greek King Antiochus IV more than 2,000 years ago. The stronghold was sought by archaeologists for over 100 years.

Mentioned in Jewish biblical sources and by historians like Josephus Flavius, the fortress was unearthed after 10 years of excavations under a parking lot in Jerusalem.

The discovery solved “one of Jerusalem’s greatest archaeological mysteries,” the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said.

The archaeologists unearthed a section of a massive wall, which they said was the base of an imposing tower measuring 66 feet long and 13 feet wide. In addition, the wall’s outer base was coated with layers of soil, stone and plaster. The specially designed slippery slope was meant to keep attackers away.

“This stronghold controlled all means of approach to the Temple atop the Temple Mount, and cut the Temple off from the southern parts of the city,” Doron Ben-Ami, Yana Tchekhanovets and Salome Cohen, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said.

Coins dating from the reign of Antiochus IV to that of Antiochus VII and wine jars imported from the Aegean region were also unearthed, providing evidence of the citadel’s chronology, as well as the non-Jewish identity of its inhabitants.

Among the ruins, the archaeologists also discovered lead slingshots, bronze arrowheads and stone catapults, all stamped with a trident, which symbolized the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (215-164 BC).

“They are the silent remains of battles that were waged there at the time of the Hasmoneans, in their attempt to conquer the citadel which was viewed as a ‘thorn in the flesh’ of the city,” the IAA said.

According to historical sources, the Acra fortress was occupied by mercenaries, and Hellenized Jews which produced great sufferings in Jerusalem’s residents.

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