Fragments of Luxury: The Jerusalem Ivories

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Excavations near the City of David yielded more than 1,500 fragments of ancient ivory. Found in the ruins of Building 100, which burned down during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, the fragments came from plaques that adorned luxurious wooden furniture. Explore these unique finds and what they reveal about the lives of Jerusalem’s wealthiest residents.

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Footnotes

1. See Oded Lipschits, “Enduring Impressions: The Stamped Jars of Judah,” BAR, Winter 2022.

2. Similar ivories are well known in the archaeological record. See Lacy K. Crocker Papadakis, “Understanding the Woman in the Window,” BAR, Winter 2023.