 It only became obvious to the Byzantines after the Avars began to move heavy siege equipment towards the Theodosian Walls.Although the walls had been continuously bombarded for a month, high morale had been maintained in the city; Patriarch Sergius bolstered morale by leading processions along the tops of the walls, carrying the Blachernitissa icon of the Virgin Mary.The peasantry around Constantinople were rallied by this religious zeal, especially because both forces attacking Constantinople were non-Christians.