Voice of America
25 Jan 2023, 23:36 GMT+10
Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday that they are trying to uncover the meaning of a recently discovered hand imprint carved into the stone wall of an ancient moat outside Jerusalem's Old City.
The imprint, which may been made as a 'prank', was found in a thousand-year-old moat exposed during works to expand a road in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem near Herod's Gate, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said.
The massive moat was hewn into the stone around all of the Old City, stretching 10 meters (33 feet) across and between two to seven meters deep and, unlike typical European ones, not filled with water.
According to the IAA, Crusaders in 1099 needed five weeks to cross it and breach the city's walls and defenses
While the moat's function was clear, the hand's meaning was elusive.
'It's a mystery, we tried to solve it,' IAA's excavation director Zubair Adawi said in a statement.
IAA archaeologists remained uncertain who carved the hand into the rock or its significance.
The moat and hand have meanwhile been covered to enable the continued infrastructure works just below the walls that currently surround the city, built in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent.
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationBEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
DOVER, Delaware: California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken legal aim at Fox News, accusing the network of deliberately distorting...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
TORONTO, Canada: Harvard University and the University of Toronto have created a backup plan to ensure Harvard graduate students continue...
JERUSALEM, Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel's success in the war with Iran could open the door to...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Former government minister Mary Hanafin has confirmed she will seek the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest Ireland's...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland's EU Commissioner Michael McGrath has defended Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas over her recent comments...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Under pressure from European regulators, Apple has revamped its App Store policies in the EU, introducing...
BONN, Germany: Despite widespread belt-tightening across the United Nations, nearly 200 countries agreed this week to increase the...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Post-tax profits at Ballymaloe Cookery School rose by 53 percent in 2024 to 135,952 euros, helped by the buzz around...