JERUSALEM — A wall mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Nehemiah and long sought by archaeologists apparently has been found, an Israeli archaeologist says.
A team of archaeologists discovered the wall in Jerusalem’s ancient City of David during a rescue attempt on a tower that was in danger of collapse, said Eilat Mazar, head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute.
Artifacts, including pottery shards and arrowheads found under the tower, seem to indicate that both the tower and the nearby wall are from the 5th century B.C., the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said, which suggests that the structure was part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the wall, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.
