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The Assyrian and Babylonian attacks on Lachish took place at the southwest corner of the mound (pictured here). This is the most vulnerable point of the stronghold. The British expedition removed a large vertical section from the mound. This section appears as a light, pebbly triangle on the far right side of the tell. The outer rim of the tell and the “path” (to the left center) mark the limits of this vertical section. The current excavations have proved that this exposed section and the slope above the large boulders (center left) are part of a siege ramp built by the Assyrians. The ramp was about 55 meters (180 feet) wide at its base and 16 meters (52 feet) high—terminating at the base of Lachish’s outer city wall. Depicted in the Lachish reliefs (see pp. 24–25), the ramp was mounted by Assyrian battering rams and archers during the siege of Lachish in 701 B.