BALU‘A REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

PROTECTING THE CITY. The initial construction of the city’s eastern fortification took place in the 11th century BCE and consisted of a single large wall (left side of image) which is preserved to a height of about 10 feet. By the tenth century, stub walls had been built (center) so that a secondary wall (right) could be added parallel to the first, forming a casemate system. The discrete spaces formed by these additional walls likely were used as homes or workrooms, having yielded a variety of grinding stones and loom weights. By the sixth century, when towers were built atop the casemate wall, the city had expanded beyond these fortifications, which served to separate the original settlement from the newer areas of construction to the east.