Description of Horizon 3^MZA

While the significant religious structures of h2 already presuppose a significant urban infrastructure, it is in h3 that urban growth reaches its maximum extent. This is evidenced by the outer city wall, which encloses an area fo at least 130 hectares, and by the monumental reorganization of the Temple Terrace.

The most important structure that can be dated to the central part of the period is the inner city wall (KW). This date is based on inference, namely on the fact that the material dumped in the moat in front of the wall dates to phase h4b^MZA: by filling in the moat, the defensive effectiveness of the wall was lost, which suggests that by then the city wall had been in function for a while already.

Throughout the site, there is significant ceramic evidence dating to this period (Ninevite V).

In the latter part, and especially in phase h3m^MZA, we have evidence for a massive construction work. The most significant are the construction of the Outer City Wall and the Temple Terrace, which was completed in this phase, and retained its configuratinon for over a millennium.