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THE BIBLE UNEARTHED: THE MAKING OF A RELIGION -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY & SCREENCAP GALLERY |
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[Israel Finkelstein] This wall was built in the late 8th century B.C. in the time of King Hezekiah.
At that time Jerusalem grew dramatically in population and in size.
Ten times bigger than before in a matter of 25, 30 years, 40, something like that. And that was because of the torrent of refugees who came from the north, after the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, came to Judah and settled here.
And this area, which was outside the old city of the Bronze and Iron Age, became populated. And then, because of the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah decided to fortify it. And he built this huge fortification -- huge wall - to surround the new quarter in the western hill of Jerusalem.
[Narrator] During the reign of this king, Hezekiah, Jerusalem underwent a METAMORPHOSIS. From a modest town of 6 hectares,
the city was transformed into an urbanized zone of about 60 hectares, protected by an impressive wall.
The city appeared to be preparing for a battle, undoubtedly with the Assyrian empire.
The archaeologist Ronny Reich has been involved in excavations here for many years. He's a specialist on the city of Jerusalem. In order to appreciate how seriously the Assyrian threat was taken by the small kingdom of Judah, we have to enter into the bowels of the city.
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