Tower of the furnaces

The Tower of the Furnaces (Hebrew migdal hattannirim) was a fortification tower on the north-western angle of the walls of Jerusalem, mentioned twice in the book of Nehemiah in the account of the post-exilic rebuilding of the city walls: it appears in the list of construction assignments (Nehemiah 3:11) and again in the processional dedication of the completed wall (Nehemiah 12:38). The tower's name likely derives from its proximity to a quarter of the city where bakers or potters operated kilns and furnaces. Jeremiah 37:21 references the "bakers' street" in the vicinity, suggesting the area had a recognized commercial character. The tower was part of the defensive circuit of Jerusalem rebuilt under Nehemiah's leadership in the mid-fifth century BC after the Babylonian destruction of the city.