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Herod’s towers. The four towers at the corners of the Antonia fortress, built by Herod to guard the Temple Mount at its vulnerable northwest corner, were similar in plan to his many other military observation towers, including the towers at Herodium. This reconstruction is also part of the elaborate model of Herodian Jerusalem at the Holyland Hotel. Like these Jerusalem towers, the high eastern tower of the Herodium palace also has a solid base. Herod built the solid base Jerusalem towers as monuments and observation posts. Since the solid-base round tower at Herodium served a similar function, it is unlikely that this tower was built, as some suggest, to hide Herod’s tomb.