A new archaeological discovery in the Holy Land promises to solidify links between Biblical history and those of the surrounding nations, perhaps even lending credence to one of the big tales of military engagement set forth in the Old Testament.
Researchers now believe that they have identified the remains of an ancient military base left over from an Assyrian attempt to conquer the nation of Israel in or around 700 BC, according to a report in Sunday’s Daily Mail.
The Assyrian Empire was founded in 1365 BC and persisted until its fall in 609 BC. One of its greatest leaders, King Sennacherib, conducted a campaign late in the imperial cycle to secure control of all trade routes that crossed the Syrian Desert to from Assyria to the Mediterranean Sea.
The stone walls of Sennacherib’s palace has long been known to depict the conquest of the Levantine city of Lachish, located some forty-two miles south of Jerusalem. Importantly, those carvings contain a layout plan for an Assyrian military base.
Archaeologist Stephen Compton got the idea to use this ancient bas relief sculpture to identify potential archaeological sites in the Holy Land. He proceeded to cross-reference it against aerial photos from Jerusalem, especially those focusing on a site called Ammunition Hill, and discovered that Sennacherib’s floor plan and the ruins on Ammunition Hill seem to match up.
In a press release issued by Compton on June 4, he declares that Ammunition Hill appears to be the site of Sennacherib’s camp from when he conducted his siege of Jerusalem—an event mentioned in three Biblical books.
The site contains a perimeter wall and significant amounts of buried pottery, which Compton has dated to at least 2600 years before present. Assuming the analysis survives the scrutiny of his peers, Compton’s site adds to the still-incomplete picture about the history of Jewish kingdoms in Israel.
Compton believes that the site was abandoned when Sennacherib’s forces moved on.
