Books in Brief

The Walls of Jerusalem: From the Canaanites to the Mamluks

Gregory J. Wightman (Sydney: Meditarch, 1993) 331 pp. 31 plates, Aus$170.00

The Walls of Jerusalem is the first comprehensive investigation of the fortifications of Jerusalem, and the scope of the book is matched by its thoroughness. Known for his excellent final report on the Damascus Gate excavations, author Gregory J. Wightman has incorporated virtually every scrap of archaeological and textual evidence available in 1990 to create an in-depth, detailed synthesis.

The archaeological remains of Canaanite and Israelite Jerusalem are few, and the major texts are either corrupt or obscure. Wightman’s ingenious efforts to extract reliable information are better repaid in his treatment of Hellenistic and Herodian Jerusalem. The latter is essentially a detailed discussion of material brought to light in the Citadel, the Herodian bastion just south of Jaffa Gate. Wightman clarifies the excavation reports by providing separate sketches for each of the six building phases. He also clarifies the relationships of the complex series of walls at the junction of the Tyropoeon and Kidron Valleys.