The Broad Wall, also dubbed as the Hezekiah's Wall, or "Avigad's Wall" is an ancient defensive wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall was unearthed in the 1970s by Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad. It was initially dated to the reign of King Hezekiah (late eighth century BCE) and later king Uzziah (early to mid-eighth century BCE). It is located in the Jewish Quarter.
This portion of the wall ran west from the Temple Mount toward the western corner of the southwestern hill (which would be the Citadel today). The Broad Wall is a massive defensive structure, seven meters thick. It was long believed that the city in this period (during the 8th century BCE) was confined to the fortified, narrow hill running to the south of the Temple Mount known as the City of David.
If the construction of the wall was during the reign Hezekiah, the motivation for building it was most likely the military campaign of Sennacherib in Judah, and the presumption was that it might be referred to in Nehemiah 3:8 and Isaiah 22:9–10. Uzziah's motivation, however, was to rebuild the city after the damage brought about by a strong earthquake.
circa 700 BCE
The Broad Wall was built during the reign of Uzziah or Hezekiah's expansion (illustration) of the city. If built during the reign of Hezekiah it would have been built to protect many people who fled from the northern kingdom of Israel and moved into Judah and Jerusalem in order to escape the Assyrian invasion. Jews from the northern tribes of Israel, who had been overrun by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, migrated down to Judah and the city of Jerusalem for protection at this time. They settled outside the city walls to the west on the Western Hill. To protect them and their residences Hezekiah fortified the western part of this newly expanded city around 721 BCE with a wall.
However, Uzziah's constrcution is known to have been a reconstrcution campaign after a great earthquake.
circa 700 BCE
Discovered in 1970s is was subequently and extensively excavated by Avigad. The unbroken length of wall uncovered by Avigad's dig runs 65 metres (71.1 yd) long and is preserved in places to a height of 3.3 metres (3.6 yd).
circa 700 BCE
This wall was built over the Central Valley and up onto the Western Hill to enclose homes in the part of the city that expanded when the Assyrians invaded Israel to the north. The remains (locate) of the wall which is exposed today measure 22-23 feet wide and 213 feet long. Evidence uncovered during excavation seems to indicate that a number of residential structures had to be destroyed (inspect) in order to build it. Isaiah addresses this very issue in his book, in chapter 22 (Isaiah 22:8-11). The book of Nehemiah places the Broad Wall near the Temple Mount wall when, during the dedication of the new wall, one group of priests walked in procession on the wall, past the remains of this Broad Wall (Nehemiah 12:38). It was most likely part of the larger "Nehemiah's Wall".
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The Madain Project is an online archive of Abrahamic History and Archaeology.
Abrahamic History & Archaeology is the study of history and archaeology with respect to the three Abrahamic Faiths without considering the religious and theological aspects. The goal of Abrahamic History is to understand how and why the religious doctrines and behaviours have evlovled and changed over time. Searching for patterns in the evolution of significant cultural events such as the development of farming, the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civilizations for clues of why and how these have influenced the three major Abrahamic religions.
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