Fortress from Jonah’s Time Uncovered

June 4, 2012

According to IAA excavation director Dmitri Egorov, these walls constituted the base of a large fortress that could have been standing during Jonah’s time. This discovery joins other finds from a 1960s’ excavation very close by when similar wall remains were found dating to the First Temple Period and Persian Period.

According to Sa'ar Ganor, the IAA Ashkelon District archaeologist, “Giv'at Yonah…is the highest hill in Ashdod, whence one can look out to sea…Due to its strategic location, it is not surprising to find there remains of a fortress that overlooked the region in the First Temple Period.

“There are two possibilities regarding who inhabited the fortress…One possibility is that it was controlled by the Assyrians who were the regional rulers in the Iron Age. Another possibility is that Josiah, king of Judah [2 Kings 22–23], occupied the fort at the time, who we know conquered territory from the Assyrians and controlled Ashdod-Yam in the seventh century BC.”

According to Muslim traditions, the Hill of Jonah was sanctified as a landmark for the tomb of Jonah, and about 10 years ago, an ultra-orthodox group declared it to be the tomb of Jonah.

Source: From an IAA press release