Image courtesy of Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 3.0..
Joel Kontinen
Archaeologists have discovered
the burned remains of an ancient Hellenistic fortress in Israel that fell to
Jewish rebels more than 2,000 years ago.
The fort was destroyed around 112
B.C. — decades after the Hanukkah miracle took
place in Jerusalem — at a time when a Maccabee leader and Jewish high priest
named Johanan (John) Hyrcanus was leading the Hasmoneans in their ongoing
struggle for independence from the Seleucid Empire, IAA representatives said.
Located atop a tall hill, the
fortress would have provided a strategic view of the main road and of nearby
Maresha, a bustling and important capital city during the Hellenistic period.
The building was likely "part of a fortified line erected by the
Hellenistic army commanders" and was intended to protect Maresha against
Hasmonean attacks, according to the statement.
"However,
the finds from the site show that the Seleucid defenses were
unsuccessful," IAA excavation directors Saar Ganor, Vladik Lifshits and
Ahinoam Montagu said in the statement. "The excavated building was badly
burnt and devastated by the Hasmoneans."
The fort's perimeter measured
about 15 metres or 50 feet in width and length, and the external stone walls
were approximately 10 feet or 3 metres or 15 meters wide and were carved to
slope outward, to foil climbers. On the inside, the archaeologists uncovered
seven rooms that were roughly 2. 5 metres or 6.6 feet tall; a stairwell led to
an upper level that was not preserved, but when that floor was intact the
fort's height would have been about 16 feet or 5 metres long), IAA
representatives said.
Under
the rubble of the fort's collapsed upper level, the team discovered hundreds of
artifacts. After clearing away thousands of stones, the archaeologists
excavated iron weapons, slingshots, pottery and coins dating to the second
century B.C. Charred wooden beams told the scientists that the fort had been
overwhelmed by military forces and burned by the victors, who were likely
Hasmoneans under Hyrcanus' leadership.
The Hasmoneans began
organizing their resistance against the Seleucids following King Antiochus IV's
desecration of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 168 B.C. The Maccabees (the
word means "hammer" in Hebrew) eventually reclaimed and rededicated
the temple, but could find only enough ceremonial oil to light the temple's new
menorah for one day. According to the miracle of Hanukkah, that small quantity
of oil burned for eight days — long enough for the temple priests to produce
enough fresh oil to light the menorah anew each day. To commemorate the
holiday, Jewish people light eight-branched menorahs over Hanukkah's eight
nights.
This rsearch proves that Israel ruled the Holy Land befre the Arabs.
Source:
Weisberger, Mindy, 2021 Evidence of Hanukkah's Maccabee rebellion
unearthed in Israel. Live Science 23 November.
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