Jerusalem - A watchtower dating to the rule of Judean King Hezekiah in the 8th century BCE was recently uncovered by IDF paratroopers carrying out archeological excavations in an IDF base in southern Israel.

The excavation was conducted together with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) as part of the project called “the Nature Defense Forces Project- Commanders Take Responsibility for their Environment.”

The tower, which dimensions are estimated to have been 5 x 3.5 m, was built of especially large eight-ton stones and was erected at a high geographic point, probably used as an observation point towards the Hebron Mountains, the Judean plain and the Ashkelon vicinity.

Sa’ar Ganor and Valdik Lifshitz, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, explained that “the strategic location of the tower served as a lookout and warning point against the Philistine enemy, one of whose cities was Ashkelon.”

In the days of the First Temple, the Kingdom of Judah built a range of towers and fortresses as points of communication, warning and signaling, to transmit messages and field intelligence. This tower is one of the observation points connecting the large cities in the area. In ancient times, beacons of smoke were lit during the day and beacons of fire at night to transmit signals. It is probable that this watchtower is one of those towers, they said.

In the Bible, beacons, or, in the language of the Bible, “pillars,” are mentioned several times. The use of pillars of smoke is described in the Book of Judges in connection to the story of the Concubine in Givah.

The prophet Jeremiah also describes the manner in which the beacons were used in chapter six. Read more at VINnews