A Decade of Discoveries in Biblical Jerusalem

Editor’s Note: This article contains images of skeletal remains.

For the past 50 years, BAR has treated its readers to some of the most fascinating discoveries from biblical Jerusalem. Indeed, almost everywhere archaeologists excavate in the Holy City, they come upon something new and exciting: an ancient monument built by a famous king, an inscription that reveals new details about the city’s history, or everyday objects that provide valuable insights into how Jerusalem’s inhabitants lived or what they believed.

NATHAN STEINMEYER, BAS

But, despite many decades of archaeological work, which has made Jerusalem one of the most excavated places in the world, there is still much left for discovery.

GIVATI PARKING LOT EXPEDITION, COURTESY YUVAL GADOT

Since 2011, we have partnered with foreign and Israeli archaeologists to excavate especially the city’s southeastern ridge, the area known today as the City of David. In what follows, we highlight the most dramatic discoveries of the past decade and contextualize them within our understanding of Jerusalem’s development throughout the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BCE). We begin in the much-debated tenth century, when the city was supposedly ruled by the biblical kings David and Solomon, before considering its expansion as the capital of a small kingdom in the ninth and eighth centuries. We then explore new discoveries from the seventh and early sixth centuries, when Jerusalem became one of the wealthiest and most important cities of the southern Levant, before it was finally conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

Jerusalem of the early Iron Age has been the focus of much debate, fueled by the biblical narratives of David’s conquest of the Jebusite city (2 Samuel 5), followed by major construction projects initiated by David and then Solomon, his son and successor (1 Kings 6). Archaeology, however, has revealed only scant evidence for this period. Enigmatic remains, such as the Stepped Stone Structure (sometimes identified with the biblical Millo) and the Large Stone Structure (sometimes identified with David’s palace), often raise more questions than answers about tenth-century Jerusalem. Likewise, although the area of the Ophel has shown some promise for understanding the city’s development during the early Iron Age, here too questions persist as to how the remains should be dated and interpreted.

BALAGE BALOGH / ARCHAEOLOGY ILLUSTRATED

Our excavations have added yet another piece to the puzzle: a rock-cut moat that separated the area of the Temple Mount and the Ophel in the north from the City of David ridge to the south. Typical of Jerusalem’s archaeology, this important discovery happened across many decades. Close to 60 years ago, British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon theorized that until the days of Solomon the city was located primarily on the southeastern ridge, in close proximity to the Gihon Spring, and the more elevated area of the Temple Mount lay outside the city walls to the north.¹ As such, she believed the city must have had a northern fortification line that would prevent attacks coming from that direction. And, indeed, when she excavated in the eastern part of the City of David (her Area R), she found that the depth of the bedrock plummeted as one moved from south to north, forming a valley that was hidden by years of later fill and construction. She named this the Northern Defensive Valley.

In 2019, while excavating the Givati Parking Lot site along the western slope of the City of David, we similarly detected bedrock along most of the easternmost part of our excavation, yet it was nowhere to be found for nearly 100 feet from south to north. For four years, we excavated through more than a thousand years of accumulated debris—from the Abbasid back to the Hellenistic period—before we finally came down to bedrock. We now believe this trough is not a natural valley but a manmade ditch, measuring nearly 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, that extended across the entirety of the northern part of the City of David, to Kenyon’s Area R to the east.

NATHAN STEINMEYER, BAS

Although we cannot yet date the moat’s construction with any certainty, we know that it was in use already by the time of the first kings of Judah, as a series of enigmatic channels (likely for industrial use) were carved into the bedrock in the late ninth or early eighth century. As such, the moat had to have been created earlier, in the ninth or possibly tenth century under the first biblical kings, or even several centuries before during the Canaanite period, perhaps as a means to defend the city from the north. Whatever its original function, however, by the ninth century, the moat’s steep-sided scarps served primarily to limit movement between the City of David and the Temple Mount, suggesting that the city was already divided between a wealthy upper city and a supporting lower city.

If the tenth century is at the center of most scholarly debates regarding biblical Jerusalem, archaeologists now agree that the ninth century witnessed the city’s growth and development. A large rock-cut installation excavated just south of the Gihon Spring about 15 years ago yielded a large pottery assemblage from this period, as well as fish bones and other finds that indicate Jerusalem’s involvement in regional trading networks.² For the first time, clay bullae stamped with symbolic motifs—including one with a Phoenician ship and another with what may be a volute capital—evince the city’s developing administrative system.

R. REICH AND E. SHUKRON’S EXCAVATIONS IN THE CITY OF DAVID. PHOTO BY CLARA AMIT, IAA

Similar finds also come from a building excavated near the Gihon Spring, where pottery analysis has shown trade and cultural connections, even with the Philistine cities along the coast. Furthermore, excavations on the western hill indicate that Jerusalem had already begun to expand across the Tyropoeon Valley in the ninth century. Beyond the archaeological evidence for domestic architecture, trade, and administration, we now also know that wealthy residences and new fortifications were built during this period.

Building 100, a luxurious, two-story reception hall that we excavated along the western slope of the City of David, is a fine example of both elite architecture and the city’s westward expansion.^a Although the building continued in use until the Babylonian destruction, new radiocarbon dating confirms it was first constructed in the ninth century, with a substantial renovation in the mid-eighth century. Interestingly, the date of the second phase was obtained through radiocarbon analysis of the remains of a bat that became stuck in a small opening in one of the building’s walls during the renovation.

R. REICH AND E. SHUKRON’S EXCAVATIONS IN THE CITY OF DAVID. PHOTO BY CLARA AMIT, IAA

Although it is difficult to understand Jerusalem’s fortifications during this period, some have suggested that the Bronze Age fortifications built to defend the city’s southeastern ridge continued to function into the early Iron Age. That this was indeed the case is strongly suggested by the fortifications built to protect the city’s most important resource, the Gihon Spring. These included a massive tower made of immense boulders that had walls measuring more than 16 feet thick.

When the fortifications were first discovered, they were dated to the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000–1550 BCE) based on their style and the pottery found within construction fills. Recent radiocarbon samples retrieved from beneath the tower, however, date the structure to the late ninth century. So, whether the tower was initially built in the Middle Bronze Age and then significantly renovated centuries later, or whether it was an entirely new fortification built in the Iron Age, it is clear that Jerusalem’s ninth-century rulers were able to take on major building projects that aimed to protect the city and its resources.^b

JOE UZIEL , CITY OF DAVID

Moving now to the mid-eighth century, we need to consider two major events that made this era a critical point in Jerusalem’s history. The first was a devastating earthquake. Noted in the first verse of the Book of Amos, the tremor has been identified in destruction layers exposed at major sites across Israel, including Megiddo and Hazor. In Jerusalem, however, no traces of this devastating earthquake had ever been discovered.

In 2018, a building was exposed on the eastern slope of the city that suffered a severe destruction sometime in the eighth century. Smashed pottery vessels lined one of the walls. The remains of a piglet, who appeared to have been scrambling to escape, were found between the vessels. Indeed, in examining earlier archaeological reports, it became clear that other areas of Jerusalem were destroyed around the same time.

YANIV BERMAN, COURTESY GIVATI PARKING LOT EXPEDITION

Both pottery and radiocarbon analysis date the building to the mid-eighth century, leading us to believe the building and large swaths of Jerusalem were destroyed during the “Amos earthquake,” which occurred during the days of King Uzziah (Amos 1:1). In fact, the major renovation of Building 100 noted above probably occurred following the earthquake, as suggested by the date of the bat skeleton found inside the walls.

The second event, which seems to have come on the heels of the earthquake, was the significant expansion of Jerusalem’s walls and fortifications. In 2020, on the eastern slope of the City of David, a large section of the city fortification was discovered. Measuring 36 feet long and more than 13 feet thick, it was constructed just to the west of the building that had been destroyed by the earthquake and had undergone significant modifications during the wall’s construction. Stratigraphic and radiocarbon evidence date the wall between 730 and 710, suggesting that Uzziah, not Hezekiah, was the Judahite king first responsible for constructing a single wall that encompassed Jerusalem’s eastern and western hills.

SHAI HALEVI, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

This wall appears to be a single construction, as there is no evidence along the western slope of the City of David for an earlier stage of fortifications that enclosed only the city’s southeastern ridge. As such, these fortifications were built not to withstand the Assyrian attack of 701, but rather were an earlier project to protect the city and provide stability and support to buildings compromised in the earthquake. In addition, the date of these fortifications calls for a fresh examination of the western hill fortifications, as these two walls were likely part of one large project. Now that we know the city’s westward expansion took place in the ninth century, an earlier date for the western hill fortifications seems plausible.

KOBY HARATI, COURTESY OF THE CITY OF DAVID ARCHIVE

Even though Jerusalem was spared destruction at the hands of the Assyrians, the city and much of Judah’s territory came under Assyrian imperial domination in the seventh century, ushering in a prolonged period of expansion and wealth. In Jerusalem’s immediate hinterland, more than 65 sites dating to this period have been identified, some of which have monumental architecture. For example, at the hilltop site of Armon ha-Natziv, which overlooks the Temple Mount from the southeast, archaeologists found a trove of royal architectural elements, including decorative window frames, balustrades, and several volute (or proto-Aeolic) capitals.³ This structure, which may have been an Assyrian-style ceremonial building with a surrounding garden, was likely built during the time of Manasseh but then dismantled as part of Josiah’s cultic reforms.

SHALOM KWELLER, CITY OF DAVID

JAR: SASHA FLIT

IVORY: SASHA FLIT

In addition, many sites around Jerusalem had vineyards, suggesting the hills and valleys in the city’s hinterland were part of royal or temple estates. The wine they produced was brought into the city to serve a growing number of wealthy elites, as evinced by the many storage jars from this time that have been excavated in the City of David. Although we always assumed the storage jars held wine (or perhaps olive oil), residue analysis showed the contents were flavored with vanilla, an extremely rare spice that had to be imported from Africa or India. Such finds indicate Jerusalem’s wealth in the seventh and sixth centuries and perhaps its control over nearby desert trade routes that connected South Arabia with the Mediterranean.

Finally, the excavation of the final phases of Building 100 revealed just how wealthy the city had become by the time of the Babylonian destruction in 586. This two-story building, which likely functioned as a royal reception or banqueting hall (recalling the “chambers” of royal officials mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11 and Jeremiah 35:2–5), was a place where Jerusalem’s elite drank and socialized with friends and guests. In addition to a complete set of drinking vessels and the remains of a high-quality terrazzo-style plaster floor, we found a collection of precious ivory inlays that once decorated the hall’s luxurious furniture.^c Such finds demonstrate that Jerusalem’s wealthiest residents were well versed in the fashions of the day and benefited from the high-end luxury trade that was encouraged and facilitated by the Assyrian, Egyptian, and then Babylonian empires.

All these finds, most of which have been made just within the past few years, continue to transform our understanding of Jerusalem during the time of the biblical writers. Each discovery, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, adds an additional piece to the puzzle of Jerusalem’s past, which, over time, comes more and more into focus. Now, we can only anticipate what we will learn over the next 50 years when we celebrate BAR’s centennial.