Scholars’ Corner: Network of Iron Age Fortresses Served as Military Signal Posts

The quick transmission of messages over long distances was as important in ancient warfare as it is today. In ancient times, visual or aural signals communicated messages from point to point. This is documented both in the Bible and in other ancient Near Eastern texts. For example, an aural signal is mentioned in Jeremiah 6:1: “Blow the trumpet in Tekoa [where Amos lived], and raise up a signal on Beth ha-kerem, [probably to be identified with Ramat Rahel, outside Jerusalem].” In clay tablets from Mari (18th century B.C.), we read of “fire signals” from one site to another. The […]