Image Details

Shlomi Amami

THE IMPRESS OF THE KING. Within the construction fill of the Hellenistic houses, excavators found clear evidence that Nebi Samwil had been inhabited during the Biblical period. They recovered a number of Iron Age jar handles, many stamped with l’melech impressions. While many handles of this type feature winged sun disks, others display four-winged scarab beetles. During the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (727–698 B.C.E.), such “belonging to the king” stamps were impressed on large storage vessels destined for or coming from Judahite royal cities or administrative centers. The grain-filled jars may have been distributed as rations in preparation for Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 B.C.E. Handles stamped with rosettes come from the time of Hezekiah’s successors.