Watchtower (agricultural)

For other uses, see Watchtower (disambiguation).

An agricultural watchtower (Phoenician name: shomōr; Hebrew: שומרה shomerā; Arabic: قصر qāsr, "a castle") was a type of building in the ancient Middle East for farmers to watch over farmland (usually vineyards) during the harvest period.^[1]

Remains of a watchtower near Ramallah.

Description

The structures usually had two storeys, with a thick-walled lower floor made of untreated stone for storage of the harvest, and an upper floor that functioned as a watchtower.^[2] The temperature inside the structure was relatively cool due to the thick wall of the lower floor, allowing the storage of crops such as grapes, which would otherwise start to ferment.^{[citation needed]} During the harvest period, farmworkers or entire families could live in the watchtower rather than return to their home each day.^[3]

British explorers Conder and Kitchener mentioned the vineyard towers as a remnant of ancient Jewish architecture. They described them as "solid and rude buildings" that can be found close to ancient tombs and rock-cut wine presses.^[4]

In scripture

Remains of a watchtower near Beitunia

The Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:2) mentions a vineyard tower:

He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

It is also mentioned in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 12:1):^[4]

Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country."

Today

An almost intact watchtower, Mount Hereth, near Tzuba

Remains of watchtowers are found throughout Syria and Palestine, and some are still in use.^{[citation needed]}

There are reportedly remains of more than a thousand towers in western Samaria.^[5]