I can't figure out gates.

[kattey]

I see diagram after diagram of ancient gates in Israel but I don't understand how they worked.  Supposedly the longer the gate extends, the safer the city was.  Why?  Were there Israeli soldiers hidden in the recesses of the gates?  When a diagram shows a staight entry into the city, but the gate has several units of recesses, how is that more protection?

Also in an article on an ancient fortified city (ruins) recently discovered , an archaeologist dates the stones from the time of David and Solomon.  Why do these stones not date to the age of the mountain they fell off from, which could have been billions of years ago?

[Sekhmet]

ummmmmmph!  Questions, questions, questions I love questions they tend to lead to research and I like my books.

[Sekhmet]

I see diagram after diagram of ancient gates in Israel but I don't understand how they worked.  Supposedly the longer the gate extends, the safer the city was.  Why?  Were there Israeli soldiers hidden in the recesses of the gates?  When a diagram shows a staight entry into the city, but the gate has several units of recesses, how is that more protection?

Hey kattey, I have really enjoyed looking up this information and hope it helps.  It really was interesting reading.  Thanks for asking the questions!

re•cess
n.
2.A remote, secret, or secluded place. Often used in the plural.
3.
a. An indentation or small hollow.
b. An alcove.
v. re•cessed, re•cess•ing, re•cess•es
v.tr.
2. To create or fashion a recess in: recessed a portion of the wall.
 [Latin recessus, retreat, from past participle of rec dere, to recede; see recede1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


recessed
Adjective
hidden or placed in a recess
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006


Recessed gates where hopefully to make the weakest area of a cities defense stronger.  Depending on the degree of sophistication of the recessed area the defenders hoped to
1) Confuse the enemy with obstacles.
2) Provide an area for the defenders to shoot missiles, arrows, rocks, dump heated water and or oils upon the advancing enemy.
3) Efforts in the design of this area were to make the enemy approach or break it, by exposing their right side.  Since normally the left side carried the shield, by forcing exposure of the right side, this allowed the defenders to shoot the enemies with greater ease.

Also in an article on an ancient fortified city (ruins) recently discovered  an archaeologist dates the stones from the time of David and Solomon.  Why do these stones not date to the age of the mountain they fell off from, which could have been billions of years ago?

This is because the simple working of the stones from original site to the walls would remove any of the microscopic debris.  That would allow dating to the billions of years the stones actually date too.  With their placement into the walls, modern archaeologists can date them not based upon microscopic debris, but upon the pottery or C14 dating of debris discovered in the corresponding strata.   

Again thank you kattey

[Elijah]

By length do you mean the foyer between outer gate and inner gate. Thick walls are not as easy to break down, and they can be walked upon up above. By having two sets of gates the enemy must get thru both; so obviously a wider wall would also mean a longer foyer. However, a long foyer allows running time to escape should the first gate become overcome. From above if the foyer is open ceiling, the enemy can be trapped and killed. The bodies alone would pile up to stop entry. Thus I can see where they may want a foyer that extends inward beyond the wall and outward beyond it. As you know then they put bridges where the enemy can be pushed off of them, or pile up dead there too. It is war tactic. I am just reasoning as you would if someone asked you how we should defend ourselves. If your gates were vertical rods that you could shoot arrows thru, you wouldnt want the inner and outer gates too close.