Israel’s archaeological services on Wednesday announced the discovery of a “mysterious” handprint carved in stone and more than a millennium old outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
The find was uncovered in East Jerusalem, part of the Israeli-occupied and annexed Holy City, during excavations that have uncovered remains of fortifications and a defensive moat from before the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, the Israel said Antiquities Authority (IAA). said in a statement.
The ditch dug into the rock was ten meters wide and up to seven meters deep in places, and then enclosed the city between two walls seven meters high, writes the IAA.
According to historians of the time, it took Frankish knights five weeks to cross it and breach the city’s defenses, the statement added.
As for the engraved handprint that has meaning near Herod’s Gate in the northern part of what is now the Old City Walls (built in 16 ),” writes the ILO.
“Is that the symbol for something? Specifying a specific item nearby? Or is it just a local hoax?” the text continues: “Perhaps in time we will know”.