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Agricultural terraces are cultivated today in much the same way as they were first utilized by the early Israelites more than 3,000 years ago. Stone retaining walls, stacked atop each other without mortar, lie at the outer edges of natural limestone terraces. The walls keep soil in place and create a level platform for farming; they also hamper water runoff allowing the water to seep into the soil. The development of terraced farming facilitated the widespread habitation of the hill country.