Dating Biblical Jerusalem
KOBI HARATI, COURTESY OF THE CITY OF DAVID ARCHIVE
Dating ancient construction projects and associating them with historically or biblically attested kings is one of the biggest challenges the city’s archaeology has to offer. One of the most significant contributions to the study of ancient Jerusalem has been the application of intensive radiocarbon dating, which has helped refine the chronology of the site and reconstruct the historical context of major building efforts. Since 2014, a collaborative project of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Tel Aviv University has focused on developing an absolute chronology for the city’s archaeology—from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman period—based on the systematic collection and analysis of radiocarbon data.1
Within this framework, more than a hundred radiocarbon samples from the City of David excavations have been dated to the Iron Age, with 18 samples falling within the early Iron Age (12th–10th centuries BCE). Despite the lack of architectural remains that can be securely dated to this period, such an abundance of early Iron Age dates clearly indicates widespread human activity on Jerusalem’s southeastern ridge during this critical time in ancient Israel’s history.