Iron Age Towers and the Middle Bronze Age Fortifications of Lachish: A Reply to Vaknin et al.’s Archaeomagnetic Study

A recent article presenting the results of paleomagnetic dating conducted at Tell ed-Duweir (ancient Lachish) indicates that a burnt Iron Age tower was destroyed by Sennacherib in 701 BCE, verifying earlier observations that are not under debate. However, the article’s caption suggests that the 2 km-long stone fortification dubbed the Revetment or the Mid-slope City Wall should also be dated to the Iron Age. However, this claim ignores the stratigraphically complicated relationship between the tower and the Mid-Slope City Wall and the date of the city wall itself, questions that are examined in the current paper. The paper ends with a discussion of the Assyrian use of fire during the siege of Lachish.