Image Details

The Assyrian siege ramp. Before their final onslaught against the Judean defenders of Lachish, the Assyrians built this ramp against the southwest corner of the fortified city. The ramp’s slope extends from upper left to lower right. The triangular light colored area between the outer surface of the slope and the darker area to the left of center is a cut into the ramp made by the British excavation in the 1930s. The cut exposes an inner section of the siege ramp showing the dense accumulation of small boulders used to construct it. Originally the fan-shaped ramp was 150 to 180 feet long on its central axis and 210 to 225 feet wide at its broad base.