The unusual shape of a hill near Jerusalem prompted an Israeli archaeologist to conduct an excavation there with surprising findings
Kiryat Ye’arim is a wooded hill with a beautiful church, Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant, at its summit. This church on the outskirts of Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, is named for the statue of the Madonna and child that rises majestically from its roof. But when archaeologist Prof. Israel Finkelstein visited the site several years ago, his gaze was drawn to an ancient stone terrace that bisected the slope. Oddly, it was straight-edged rather than rounded in keeping with the contour of the hill. He was struck, too, by how well it had held together. There must be a supporting wall stabilizing it, he deduced. Another thing that attracted his attention: Unlike the area’s other hills, this hilltop was flat.
