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Hershel Shanks

THE EASTERN BASTION OF JUDEA. Both the original construction at Machaerus by Alexander Jannaeus and the later renovated structure of Herod the Great were protected by bastions on three sides. The northern side did not require a bastion as it faced out toward the lower city. Excavations at the western bastion revealed remarkable preservation: Before excavation, the archaeologists expected to find 5 feet of bastion walls; the western bastion has 30-foot-high intact walls.