Ateret Fortress (Chastelet / Vadum Iacob)

Also known as Chastelet, le Chastelez, Vadum Iacob, Mezad Ateret, Ateret Fortress

The Castle of Jacob's Ford — Chastelet or Vadum Iacob — was a brand-new castle that King Baldwin IV began in 1178 on a mound beside the Jordan, at the point where the river could be forded on the road from Galilee to Damascus. Saladin attacked it in August 1179 before it was finished, and destroyed it after a short siege; hundreds of Templars were killed or captured. Israeli excavations have uncovered the unfinished fortifications and the bodies of the defenders exactly where they fell. The site is now the Ateret archaeological reserve near Gadot.

Coordinates: 33.0085°, 35.6297°

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