The Assyrian War Machine

The Levantini Podcast

Professor Yosef Garfinkel is a Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Yigael Yadin Chair in Archaeology of Israel. In 2021 he was one of the authors of a study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology which examines how the Assyrian army laid siege to the town of Lachish in Judah in 701 BC. Specifically, the study examines how the Assyrian army constructed an impressive siege ramp in under a month and were confronted with unique conditions. The remnants of the Assyrian siege ramp remain at the site and it’s the oldest known siege ramp in the Near East and the only one known to have been discovered from the military conquests of the Assyrian empire.