The fifth volume in the series of final reports on the work of the Joint
Expedition to Jerusalem in the 1960s describes the discoveries made in
six sites in the ancient city and places them in the archaeological and
historical context of Jerusalem and the surrounding lands. Among the
most debated issues are the extent of the occupation of the city during
the Iron Age, the location of the southern defence line in Herodian and
Roman times, and the date of the destruction of an Umayyad palatial
structure. There is fresh information on the civic amenities of the
southern half of the Byzantine city, and on the structure of the Ottoman
city defences built under Sulaiman the Magnificent in the sixteenth
century. Fine glazed pottery, both locally made and imported, and the
wide range of materials reaching Jerusalem through trade and pilgrimage,
reflect elite patronage and the high status of the holy city under
Islamic rule.