Image Details
Courtesy of the University of Haifa Department of Archaeology
Toppled towers. In the forest to the east and west of el-Ahwat were the remains of several unusual fortifications, including this tower, which is dated by potsherds to Iron Age I (1200–1000 B.C.E.). This structure was once so tall that the settlement’s defenders could see over the treetops, affording them a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, a defensive configuration that is rarely found at sites in ancient Canaan or Israel.