1/ Following a short exchange with @WW2girl1944 today, I thought a #thread about the ancient city of Akko (also known as Acre) is in place. So lets go underground into ancient halls and tunnels. This one has it all, #Archaeology, #Crusades & #Templars. Let's start. >>
@nickfshort

2/ >> Ancient Akko rose to greatness around 1191 AD, following the 3rd Crusade & the Crusader Kingdom's attempt to conquer back the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the Muslims. The main ruins from this period is the Hospitaller Fortress. >>

* The main courtyard in the halls.

3/ >> The fortress in Akko was built by the Hospitaller Order in order to provide accommodation & equipment for the pilgrims before the last stretch of their journey to Jerusalem. The halls were discovered by chance in the 1960's. >>

* The Knights' Halls in 1992.

4/ >> During the laying of a sewer pipe the ruins were seen for the first time, but the excavations only began in 1992. The excavation was a combination of large backhoes & standard archeological excavation. Today, 28 years later, the excavations & research are not over. >>

5/ >> Two years after the excavation in the Knights' Halls began, the Akko Municipality received a call from tenants in the Old City whose sewers were clogged. The team sent to solve the problem opened the floor in the alley next to the house, but they didn't find a sewer. >>

6/ >> They instead found a Knight's Templar tunnel there. After excavation & renovations to make it accessibe, the tunnel was opened in 1999. The tunnel was built at the end of the 12th century CE, the lower part was hewn into the rock & its vaults were built of ashlars. >>

7/ >> The tunnel is 350 meters long and was used as an underground escape route. It is called the Templar Tunnel because it was built by the Knights of the Order of Solomon (the Templar Knights) who were at that time living in Akko and not in Jerusalem. >>

8/ >> The Order of the Knights Templar was founded in 1119 to guard pilgrims going to Jerusalem. They settled in the Al Aqsa Mosque which they thought were remains of Solomon's Temple, hence their full name (Order of the Temple of Solomon). >>

9/ >> Their stables were beneath the mosque, so this part of Temple Mount was named "Solomon's Stables" (pictured). They were eventually executed due to the power & wealth they accumulated, the tunnel in Akko is a good example of their building abilities.

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