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YANIV BERMAN, COURTESY GIVATI PARKING LOT EXPEDITION

BENEFICIAL BONES. Although the prophet Amos notes an earthquake that devastated Judah during his days (1:1), archaeologists working in Jerusalem had found no evidence for such destruction. Two recently discovered animal skeletons, however, are silent witnesses of the tragic event. When a wealthy residence in the Givati Parking Lot (Building 100) was rebuilt following a substantial destruction, a bat was sealed inside a wall opening (above). Radiocarbon analysis of its remains dated the event to the mid-eighth century. Since Jerusalem did not fall to the hands of the Assyrians, this building was likely renovated at this time as a result of the earthquake.