| Jerusalem |
| Zahal Square |
| Implementation of conservation measures |
| Orderer | Moriah Company - the Jerusalem Development Company Ltd. |
| Duration | November 2006 – February 2007 |
| Implemented by: |
Arch. Shachar Puni
Lilia Kirshenbaum
Fuad Abu-Taa'
Yoram Saad - Head of conservation project branch
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In May 2006 a conservation plan was drafted by the architect Shahar Puni of the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority for the architectural remains that are located in Zahal Square in Jerusalem. This was done within the framework of the development of the square, which the Moriah Company is implementing prior to preparing the route for the Light Rail Project.
In the area between Zahal Square and the Old City wall there are archaeological remains which are slated to be incorporated in the renewed development of the square. The area was excavated in 1971-1972 under the direction of Dan Bahat and Menashe Ben Ari of the then Department of Antiquities. The finds at the site include the remains of fortifications from different periods: the Crusader city wall (c. 3 meters wide); a Crusader tower that was built of stones in secondary use which were originally used in buildings that date to the time of the Herodian dynasty; an Ottoman city wall that was built on the remains of the Crusader city wall and which continues to the west; a moat from the same period that reaches a maximum width of 19 meters and an aqueduct from the Ayyubid period (1244-1260 CE).
The archaeological remains are in a poor state of preservation: the original bonding material has disintegrated and was washed from the joints between the stones and from the core of the city wall and other walls; there are detached masonry stones and some have fallen from the wall; most of the remains are covered with vegetation.
The conservation work at the site included trimming and removing vegetation from above and near the remains; stabilizing the existing remains, by means of completing the stonework for example; filling in cracks in the bedrock; completing the debesh construction at the top of the tower; dismantling the earlier cement-based sealant from the tops of walls and resealing them with debesh and a lime-based bonding material; pointing up joints; cleaning stabilizing and conserving the plaster remains. The intervention was done utilizing indigenous stone and a kind of bonding material referred to as ‘Jerusalem mix’.
While removing the vegetation and the heaps of soil from above the remains elements were discovered that required a more extensive conservation intervention than was originally anticipated. It was therefore decided to perform additional conservation measures such as injecting bonding material into the cores of walls, reconstructing sections of walls that collapsed, and installing drainage through the walls.
The project is scheduled to be finished in 2008 with the operation of the light rail line.
To view the figures, click on the figure caption
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