Image Details

Photographer: Tzila Sagiv, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority

Built of mudbricks, the Assyrian palace sat atop a large podium (viewed from the west in the photo), which rose 6 feet from the ground on one side and 10 feet on another to create a level building surface. Both the palace and the podium were constructed of square, reddish-brown mudbricks that measured about 15 inches on each side, as seen at left in the photo of the north edge of the podium. The architecture and building materials used in the Ashdod structure are similar to those of Assyrian palaces in Assyria proper.