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Abstract

A fortification line, comprising a wall and a tower, was exposed outside the Jerusalem Old City wall and parallel to it, northwest of Jaffa Gate. The lower part of the wall was rock-cut, while its upper part was constructed of stones set in a grayish mortar (preserved only in the eastern part). The finds include pottery dating from the Roman-Byzantine periods and mainly, to the twelfth–early thirteenth centuries CE; stones bearing mason’s marks, mostly geometric, in secondary use; and two coins. Also found were stone architectural elements; fragments of wall paintings (frescos) depicting the head of the Madonna, and a Halo and monogram; and two stones bearing Latin inscriptions—all probably originating from a destroyed Crusader church. Based on stratigraphical and archaeological considerations, the fortification was constructed after the Crusader period and destroyed before the Mamluk period.

Keywords

fortifications, chronology, Christianity, art, numismatics, epigraphy, earthquake

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