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The British expedition to Lachish had uncovered the Assyrian siege ramp in the 1930s, but it was David Ussishkin’s Tel Aviv University (1974-1994) excavations that would identify the ramp. Built of stones and construction material weighing between 13,000 and 19,000 tons, it was estimated that if a worker could have carried 45 kilograms an hour over a distance of 300 meters, 10,000 workers could have completed the siege ramp in about 18 days. Inside the city, a counter ramp was rapidly built by the defenders to strengthen the city walls. The Nineveh reliefs depict the intense assault against the city as battering rams were pushed up the siege ramp. Defenders on the walls are shown throwing down firebrands, bricks, and stones to deter the attack, but all to no avail.
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