Excavations at the citadel at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem prove that the tower known as the Tower of David actually is the Tower of Phasael, one of the three described by Josephus as having been erected by King Herod about 25 B.C., The Times reports.
The tower was inserted in a pre-Herodian wall which seems to go as far back as the Maccabees. The wall incorporates an even earlier wall which may go as far back as Nehemiah. It is believed that the wall may have been built when the Maccabees, under Jonathan Maccabaeus fortified the city.
The report states that the new discoveries vividly illustrate many passages of the books of Maccabees and of Josephus, including javelin heads of the Greek type used in the wars of the Selucids against the Jews.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
