Discovered ancient Greek fortress in Jerusalem

The Times of Israel newspaper said the archeology team had discovered a city and a tower could be a clue to 'one of the great riddles in Jerusalem's history'.

Found an ancient Greek fortress in Jerusalem

It is said to be an ancient Greek fortress from more than 2,000 years ago called Arca , which had played an important role in the Jewish uprising and the source of the light festival of this nation.

The Festival of Light or Hanukkah in Hebrew is an event of remembrance of the Maccabee rebellion before the King of Antiochus Epiphanies of the Seleucid kingdom and reclaiming Jerusalem. The King Epiphanies was the one who put the Jewish religion out of law, arrested the Jewish people to worship Zeus. To protect the converted Jews to Greek culture, King Antiochus built a large fortress called Arca in Greek which means "inside the city of David".

Givati ​​relic, Jerusalem.(Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority).

The first Jewish Maccabee recorded (translated): ' The Seleucus reinforced David with a thick high-walled tower and called it their capital. Done them to look like the sinners living there, those who live outside the law. These people strengthened their stronghold, hoarding food and weapons. They received the material from Jerusalem and gradually fell into it. That place became a trap in the holy land, a long-standing enemy of the nation of Israel. '

For more than a decade, researchers have argued much about the exact location of this fort. But only a few months ago, archaeologists unearthed a large wall, a tower and a slope at Givati ​​ruins . These findings reinforce the assumption that the fortress was built in the south of Jerusalem's ancient citadel and the Temple mountain area.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs notice: 'New archaeological findings suggest that there may be a strong stronghold built in the hillside overlooking the ancient city of David. This fort holds every path to the temple above the Temple Mountain and separates the temple from the southern part of the city. '

Every year the Jews re-organized Hanukkah at the end of the year to celebrate this tradition.

A number of antiques have also been found at this monument, such as palms, bows, boulders, coins from King Antiochus, and many barrels of wine of Mediterranean origin.'These are evidences of the chronology of this stronghold, as well as evidence that residents here do not follow Judaism'.

According to the first and second Maccabee Sutras, along with Jewish historian Josephus Flavius' records in the first century, Maccabee led the Jews to expel the Greeks from the fortress in 141 BC. After conquering Arca fortress, Maccabee continued to recall the Jerusalem temple. So far, the Jews have organized Hanukkah every year to celebrate this monument.

The archaeological group continues to unearth Givati ​​relics and may find new facts for the history of Jerusalem.