An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem.
Eli Shukron has spent two decades uncovering a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide, and claims 'the whole site we can compare to the bible perfectly.'
The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers, and Shukron says the biblical story of David's conquest of Jerusalem provides clues that point to this particular fortification as David's entry point into the city.
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Eli Shukron has spent two decades uncovering a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide.
THE CITADEL OF DAVID
Shukron says the biblical story of David's conquest of Jerusalem provides clues that point to this particular fortification as David's entry point into the city.
In the second Book of Samuel, David orders the capture of the walled city by entering it through the water shaft.
Shukron's excavation uncovered a narrow shaft where spring water flowed into a carved pool, thought to be where city inhabitants would gather to draw water.
Excess water would have flowed out of the walled city through another section of the shaft Shukron said he discovered - where he believes the city was penetrated.
Shukron says no other structure in the area of ancient Jerusalem matches what David would have captured to take the city.
The claim by Eli Shukron has run into criticism, rekindling a longstanding debate about using the Bible as a field guide to identifying ancient ruins.
It joins a string of announcements by Israeli archaeologists saying they have unearthed palaces of the legendary biblical king, who is revered in Jewish religious tradition for establishing Jerusalem as its central holy city - but who has long eluded historians looking for clear-cut evidence of his existence and reign.
The present-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also wrapped up in the subject.
The $10 million excavation, made accessible to tourists last month, took place in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem and was financed by an organization that settles Jews in guarded homes in Arab areas of east Jerusalem in an attempt to prevent the city from being divided.
The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a future independent state.
Shukron, who excavated at the City of David archaeological site for nearly two decades, says he believes strong evidence supports his theory.
'This is the citadel of King David, this is the Citadel of Zion, and this is what King David took from the Jebusites,' said Shukron, who said he recently left Israel's Antiquities Authority to work as a lecturer and tour guide.
'The whole site we can compare to the Bible perfectly.'
Most archaeologists in Israel do not dispute that King David was a historical figure, and a written reference to the 'House of David' was found in an archaeological site in northern Israel.
But archaeologists are divided on identifying Davidic sites in Jerusalem, which he is said to have made his capital.
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Eli Shukron, who excavated at the site for nearly two decades, says he has found the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem.
Shukron's dig, which began in 1995, uncovered a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide.
Pottery shards helped date the fortification walls to be 3,800 years old.
They are the largest walls found in the region from before the time of King Herod, the ambitious builder who expanded the Second Jewish Temple complex in Jerusalem almost 2,100 years ago.
The fortification surrounded a water spring and is thought to have protected the ancient city's water source.
The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers.
Shukron says the biblical story of David's conquest of Jerusalem provides clues that point to this particular fortification as David's entry point into the city.
WHAT THEY FOUND
Shukron's dig, which began in 1995, uncovered a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide.
Pottery shards helped date the fortification walls to be 3,800 years old.
They are the largest walls found in the region from before the time of King Herod, the ambitious builder who expanded the Second Jewish Temple complex in Jerusalem almost 2,100 years ago.
The fortification surrounded a water spring and is thought to have protected the ancient city's water source.
The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers.
In the second Book of Samuel, David orders the capture of the walled city by entering it through the water shaft. Shukron's excavation uncovered a narrow shaft where spring water flowed into a carved pool, thought to be where city inhabitants would gather to draw water.
Excess water would have flowed out of the walled city through another section of the shaft Shukron said he discovered - where he believes the city was penetrated.
Shukron says no other structure in the area of ancient Jerusalem matches what David would have captured to take the city.
The biblical account names it the 'Citadel of David' and the 'Citadel of Zion.'
Ronny Reich, who was Shukron's collaborator at the site until 2008, disagrees with the theory.
He said more broken pottery found from the 10th century BC, presumably King David's reign, should have been found if the fortification had been in use then.
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Eli Shukron, an archeologist formerly with Israel's Antiquities Authority, walks in the City of David archaeological site near Jerusalem's Old City. Shukron says this is the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem.
Shukron said he only found two shards that date close to that time.
He believes the reason he didn't find more is because the site was in continuous use and old pottery would have been cleared out by David's successors.
Much larger quantities of shards found at the site date to about 100 years after King David's reign.
Reich said it was not possible to reach definitive conclusions about biblical connections without more direct archaeological evidence.
'The connection between archaeology and the Bible has become very, very problematic in recent years,' Reich said.
Critics say that some archaeologists are too eager to hold a spade in one hand and a Bible in the other in a quest to verify the biblical narrative - either due to religious beliefs or to prove the Jewish people's historic ties to the land.
But other respected Israeli archaeologists say recent finds match the biblical account more than naysayers claim.
WHO WAS KING DAVID?
David was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, according to the Hebrew Bible.
He was said to be an ancestor of Jesus in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
His life is conventionally dated from1040–970 BCE.
He is often depicted as a righteous king as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet.
David is central to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
He is well known as a warrior in the biblical tale of David and Goliath.
The account of the battle between David and Goliath is told in 1 Samuel, chapter 17.
In the tale, Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to battle.
David hears that there is a reward for any man who defeats Goliath and accepts the challenge.
David slingshots a stone into Goliath's face and the giant falls to the ground.
David cut off his head and became a hero.
Shukron, a veteran archaeologist who has excavated a number of significant sites in Jerusalem, said he drew his conclusions after nearly two decades exploring the ancient city.
'I know every little thing in the City of David.
I didn't see in any other place such a huge fortification as this," said Shukron.
The biblical connection to the site is emphasized at the City of David archaeological park, where the 'Spring Citadel' - the excavation's official name - has been retrofitted for tourists, including a movie projected on a screen in front of the fortification to illustrate how it may have looked 3,800 years ago.
The City of David - located in east Jerusalem - is one of the most popular tourist sites in the holy city, with 500,000 tourists visiting last year.
'We open the Bible and we see how the archaeology and the Bible actually come together in this place,' said Doron Spielman, vice president of the nonprofit Elad Foundation, which oversees the archaeological park.
The site has come under criticism because of the Elad Foundation's nationalistic agenda.
Most of the foundation's funding comes from private donations from Jews in the U.S. and U.K., and its activities include purchasing Arab homes near the excavated areas and then helping Jews move in, sometimes under heavy guard.
The galleys arrived off the scorching shores of Palestine, loaded with fabulous treasures for a legendary king. As the banks of rowers glided their vessels into the harbour, slaves rushed to the dockside to unload the precious cargo - silver, sweet-smelling sandalwood, wine, ivory, apes and peacocks. But the most important gift of all was gold. Gold fires the imagination. It does so today, hoarded as security in our troubled times, and it did 3,000 years ago, when King Solomon, the ruler of Israel, accumulated it in abundance. The evidence is in the Bible. The Old Testament tells us he was the possessor of 'gold according to all his desire'.
Treasure hunt: The 1950 film King Solomon's Mines won several Oscars. And his desire was great. His drinking cups were made of it; he had 300 shields beaten from it. His great throne in Jerusalem was ivory 'overlaid with the best gold', and on steps leading up to it stood 12 golden lions facing 12 golden eagles. A seven-branched candelabra of gold hung above his royal seat. The walls of the Temple he built to house the Ark of the Covenant were adorned with it, too. Centuries later, 'Solomon in all his glory' would become St Matthew's yardstick for riches untold and magnificence unsurpassed. He was a real King Midas. Where did this wealth come from? The Bible tells us that, too. Solomon's servants, it says, went to Ophir 'and fetched from thence gold, 420 talents' - roughly 20 tons. But that is where the clues stop and the trail goes cold. The location of Ophir, it seems, was meant to remain a mystery.
Out of this mystery grew a tale that obsessed the ancient Greeks, Renaissance adventurers and Victorian explorers and, with its aura of romance and greed, still has the power to draw us in today. Indeed, the search for King Solomon's mines is as timeless as that for the Holy Grail. The astronomer and geographer Ptolemy calculated that Ophir was located in what today is Pakistan, at the mouth of the Indus river. Alternatively, he placed it near the Straits of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia.
The story has inspired countless explorers to hunt for a legendary golden treasure trove. A Portuguese explorer of the 15th century, meanwhile, claimed it was in the Shona lands of Zimbabwe in Africa, a link embraced by the English poet John Milton in his epic poem Paradise Lost. Either way, the prospect of boundless booty inspired ambitious men to set sail into vast and dangerous oceans and stretch the limits of the known world. Christopher Columbus believed he had found Ophir in Haiti, and Sir Walter Raleigh in the jungles of Surinam. In 1568 a Spanish captain discovered an archipelago in the Pacific and named them the Solomon Islands because he believed they were Ophir. Just over a century ago, the Victorians were captivated by a tale of British grit, ancient curses, African warriors and black magic, all suffused with the glamour of diamonds and gold. Henry Rider Haggard's best-selling book King Solomon's Mines caught the mood of the moment and set pulses racing for a generation of imperial wannabes intent on opening up previously untracked swathes of the world. It was as gripping at the time as an Indiana Jones film.
Rider Haggard's 1885 novel was heralded as 'the most amazing book ever written' . At the time, Cecil Rhodes, David Livingstone and Henry Stanley were discovering cultures, tribes and natural wealth in abundance in Africa. If the lost mines of Ophir were anywhere, this vast and largely unexplored land was surely the place to find them. In the real world, however, the mines remained as elusive as ever. Until now. Adventurous souls must have stirred this week when it was revealed that the location of the real King Solomon's mines has, at last, been nailed down. Archeologists now place the lost mines of the ancient King of Israel in the desert south of the Dead Sea, in modern-day Jordan. A 24-acre site of tunnels and holes, topped with black slag, has been carbon-dated to the 10th century BC, the time of Solomon. His mines, it seems, were within his kingdom all along. But prospectors and fortune-seekers should not race East just yet. For it appears that the king's slave workers there were not extracting gold, but something rather more prosaic - copper.
For professional archeologists, however, the discovery is pure gold dust. Copper was a sought-after metal at the time and was used in everything from cooking pots and weapons to ornaments and coins. And Solomon certainly needed lots of it, not least for the 16,000-gallon water tank he built in his Temple, which was supported on 12 bronze bulls. But what of the gold? Solomon is one of those historical characters in whom fact and fantasy collide. He was conceived in illicit passion as the son of David, the shepherd boy who slew the giant Goliath and went on to become king. His mother was the beautiful Bathsheba, whom David stole from her husband, a man he murdered. The young Solomon became the nation's third king and, under him, the country grew from a city state to a mini empire that dominated the Middle East for four decades between 965BC and 925BC. He was renowned for the wisdom with which he governed. He was an epic lover with a reputed 700 wives and 300 concubines. But, then, everything about him was magnificently exaggerated. Some stories ascribe to him a flying carpet, 60 miles square, that could carry 40,000 men and fly from Damascus to Medina in a day. Among his wives was the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh and among his sexual conquests the exotic Queen of Sheba. These were important diplomatic liaisons of convenience that helped to safeguard his country's borders. When they came to him, both brought him camel loads of gold. He was also a romantic to whom some of our culture's most sensuous lyrics have been attributed. 'Behold, thou art fair, my love,' he wrote in the Song Of Songs. His endearments reflected his opulence. 'Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair,/ Thy neck with strings of jewels./ We will make thee plaits of gold/ With studs of silver.'
And all this opulence was fuelled by fabulous cargoes arriving from Ophir. One historian calculates that by the end of his reign, he had 500 tons of gold, which today would be worth around £6 trillion, putting him second only to Alexander the Great on the ancient world's rich list.
The 1985 film starring Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone was another adaptation of the novel King Solomon's Mines . After his death, his kingdom was split, Jerusalem was sacked and his temple destroyed. But while many of Solomon's monuments were swept away, future generations were always drawn to the mines that filled his once-legendary coffers. It was Rider Haggard's novel, in 1885, that booted the legend into the modern age. This fictional account of a journey into the heart of Africa was heralded on billboards as 'the most amazing book ever written'. But in Haggard's version it was not gold that the fabled mines had produced and the explorers were seeking, but a commodity that in the Victorian age had acquired an even greater lustre - diamonds. His hero, Allan Quatermain, hears of the secret mines from a dying traveller. 'I listened open-mouthed to this story of an ancient civilisation and of the treasures which those old Jewish or Phoenician adventurers used to extract from a country long since lapsed into the darkest barbarism. Suddenly he said to me: "Lad, did you ever hear of the Suliman Mountains up to the north-west of the Mushakulumbwe country? That is where Solomon really had his mines, his diamond mines I mean."' They are to be found, a 16th century letter tells him, by climbing the left of a pair of snowy-capped mountains known as Sheba's Breasts as far as 'the nipple, on the north side of which is the great road Solomon made, from whence it is three days' journey to the King's Palace'.
The legend has constantly been revived and re-invented to fit the times . So begins Quatermain's epic expedition. The treasure Quartermain and his companions eventually find in an underground chamber beneath Sheba's Breast is indeed the stuff of dreams - ivory from hundreds of elephants, gold bars and chests filled to the brim with giant diamonds, some as large as pigeons' eggs. 'Hee, hee!' cackles the evil sorceress who has been forced to lead them there. 'Here are the bright stones ye love, white men. Take them. Run them through your fingers. Take as many as ye will. Ha, ha!'
Then the old crone shuts them in. And though she dies, crushed beneath the very stone she has used to block their exit, and they escape by the skin of their teeth, they have no choice but to leave the bulk of these riches behind. But for real explorers, the search for the mines was only just beginning. Some went to China, India and even Peru. But by this time, Africa was the preferred destination. A dozen different locations, from Sierra Leone to Mozambique, were considered at one time or another.
A British boy named Frank Hayter read Haggard's book and was enthused. When he grew up, he put on his pith helmet and in the mid-1920s went searching for the mines in Ethiopia. He ended up finding nothing. More recently, the Anglo-Afghan writer and documentary-maker Tahir Shah followed Hayter's lead. His family had long searched for Solomon's secret. His grandfather launched an expedition to what is now Yemen. His father in Sudan. Shah took up the mantle, directed by an ancient map he found in the bazaar in Old Jerusalem. He travelled to Ethiopia and came across hellish craters in the ground where desperate men, women and children risked life and limb to find grains of gold dust. Shah hired a team of mules and trekked into the highlands in perpetual rain. He scoured a peak known as Devil Mountain for hidden caves, but the only one he found ended in a dead end after just 25 feet.
'Yet I felt certain we were close to where Solomon mined the gold for his temple,' he wrote in 2002. For him, the hunt would go on. Such is gold fever. Such is the seductive siren voice of King Solomon. So will the identifying of those copper workings near the Dead Sea end the quest? I hope not. Over the ages, the legend has been revived and re-invented to fit the times, and we may have need of it today. For the real nugget of truth about King Solomon's mines was that they inspired people to brave deeds. At its heart, it was not a story of easy riches and luxury living but of hard graft and endeavour, of stepping out bravely into the unknown. That seems an appropriate lesson for the sticky times we're in. Just as investors flee to gold, so golden legends may be preferable to copper-bottomed reality. Foolish? Perhaps, but remember this. Solomon's copper mines may have been found, for who can argue with the archeologists? But the king's gold had to come from somewhere, and that remains as much a mystery as ever.
An excavation led by Thomas Levy of the University of California, San Diego, and Mohammad Najjar of Jordan’s Friends of Archaeology has unearthed what they identify as an ancient center for copper production at Khirbat en-Nahas. Located in the lowlands of a desolate, arid region south of the Dead Sea in what was once the Kingdom of Edom, which the Old Testament describes as a foe of Israel, it is now the Faynan district of Jordan. As they are reporting in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, radiocarbon analysis dates the site as from the 10th century BCE, when David and Solomon would have ruled and about 300 years earlier than scholars thought. It is by no means certain that Solomon (or David) controlled the mines, but at least the dates now match.
Beyond the sandstone in the region of Petra, lies the mines of King Solomon. Jordan has given rise to unique rock formations, rising from the desert, forming deep canyons and fissures. Tourists from all around the world flock to the ancient city of Petra, built during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, Petra is the ruined capital of the Nabatean Arabs. Its immense facades were lost for almost 1000 years until they were rediscovered by the Swiss traveller Johan Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. The ancient city was recently named one of the New Seven Wonders of the Worldand luxury tourism is booming in the region.
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A member of the Jordanian Tribal Police stands guard at the entrance to the Khazneh, or Treasury, in Petra, Jordan, in this picture taken, Monday, June 26, 2006.
The cloister Al Deir at the archaeological site Petra, Jordan, pictured Aug. 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Annedore Smith) #
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The site of the Treasury, in Petra, Jordan, Friday, July 6, 2007, the monument that is carved out of solid rock from the side of a mountain. Jordan's Petra has been named one of the new seven wonders of the world at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, July 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Nader Daoud) #
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The Khazneh, or Treasury, is seen in Petra, Jordan, in this photo taken,Tuesday, June 27, 2006. This site was selected as one of the new seven wonders of the world in a global poll announced Saturday, July 7, 2007. People throughout the world voted by Internet or phone message for the world's top architectural marvels, said New7Wonders, the nonprofit group conducting the balloting. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) #
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PETRA, JORDAN - OCTOBER 12: An ancient temple cut into the sandstone is lit up by candles in Petra on October 12, 2008 in Petra, Jordan. The sandstone in the region has given rise to unique rock formations, rising from the desert, forming deep canyons and fissures. Tourists from all around the world flock to the ancient city of Petra, built during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, Petra is the ruined capital of the Nabatean Arabs. Its immense façades were lost for almost 1000 years until they were rediscovered by the Swiss traveller Johan Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. Luxury tourism in the region is booming and set to continue with rumours of budget carriers such as Easyjet set to make nearby Aqaba a future destination.
Earlier work by Levy and Najjar, The New York Times reported in 2006, “len[t] credence to biblical accounts of the rivalry between Edom and the Israelites in what was then known as Judah. . . . [T]his supported the tradition that Judah itself had by the time of David and Solomon, in the early 10th century, emerged as a kingdom with ambition and the means of fighting off the Edomites.”
The current work finds that metallurgic activity at the site spiked during the 9th century BCE, which is in agreement with the idea of the strength and power of the Edomites. Biblical archeologists have been torn over whether the Edomites were sufficiently organized by the 10th to 9th centuries BCE to threaten the neighboring Israelites. But with the new excavations, said Levy, “we have evidence that complex societies were indeed active in 10th and 9th centuries BCE and that brings us back to the debate about the historicity of the Hebrew Bible narratives related to this period.”
Ancient Egyptian artifacts—a scarab and an amulet—were found in a layer of the dig that coincided with a serious disruption in copper production, at the end of the 10th century BCE. That was also the time when Pharaoh Sheshonq I, whom the Bible calls Shishak, mounted a military campaign after Solomon’s death to crush economic activity in the area.
“We can’t believe everything ancient writings tell us,” Levy said. “But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.” It remains to be seen whether other scholars in the notoriously disputatious field of biblical archaeology agree, of course, but for now Levy and his team are pressing on. They hope to figure out who actually controlled the copper industry at Khirbat en-Nahas: David and Solomon, or Edomite leaders?
Countless treasure-seekers have set off in search of King Solomon's mines, trekking through burning deserts and scaling the forbidding mountains of Africa and the Levant, inspired by the Bible's account of splendid temples and palaces adorned in glittering gold and copper. Yet to date, the evidence that has claimed to support the existence of Solomon and other early kings in the Bible has been highly controversial. In fact, so little physical evidence of the kings who ruled Israel and Edom has been found that many contend that they are no more real than King Arthur. In the summer of 2010, NOVA and National Geographic embarked on two cutting-edge field investigations that illuminate the legend of Solomon and reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty biblical kingdoms. These groundbreaking expeditions expose important new clues buried in the pockmarked desert of Jordan, including ancient remnants of an industrial-scale copper mine and a 3,000-year-old message with the words "slave," "king," and "judge."
King Solomon: son of David, ruler of the first great Israelite kingdom, builder of the first temple in Jerusalem. The Bible tells us Solomon was not only the wisest, but the richest of all kings, but where did his wealth come from? Legends tell of fabulous mines of gold and copper, but where were they? Archaeologists have searched for evidence of Solomon and found nothing.
ERIC CLINE (The George Washington University): So far, there is absolutely no evidence for Solomon outside the Bible.
NARRATOR: Now, in the deserts of Jordan: mineshafts carved from bedrock a hundred feet deep, and the remains of ancient smelting.
THOMAS LEVY (University of California, San Diego): We have industrial-scale metal production, layer after layer.
NARRATOR: Are these King Solomon's mines? Are these the bones of his miners? At last, new finds from Solomon's era: ancient cities and the first evidence of early Hebrew writing, clues to the real world of the great biblical king.
The Quest for King Solomon's Mines, right now, on this NOVA/National Geographic Special.
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| | For centuries, scholars have either dismissed King David and King Solomon as mythological figures, or disputed the era in which they ruled over the Israelites, as told in the Bible.
But the discovery of six official clay seals may finally prove that there was a ruler in the region during the 9th and 10th century BC.
Although the bullae don't directly reference David or Solomon, they do suggest the presence of a government and political activity during their respective supposed reigns.
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For centuries, scholars have dismissed David and Solomon as mythological figures. But the discovery of six official clay seals (most well-preserved example pictured) may finally prove that there was a ruler, or at least government activity, in the region during the 9th and 10th century BC
The clay seals were found at Khirbet Summeily, an archaeological site in Tell-el Hesi to the east of Gaza in southern Israel, by Jimmy Hardin, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University.
He said the clay bullae were used to seal official correspondence in much the same way wax seals were used on official documents in later periods.
Professor Hardin, co-director of the Hesi Regional Project, has been excavating in the region v since 2011.
'Our preliminary results indicated that this site is integrated into a political entity that is typified by elite activities, suggesting that a state was already being formed in the 10th century BC,' Professor Hardin said.
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The clay seals were found at Khirbet Summeily, an archaeological site in Tell-el Hesi to the east of Gaza in southern Israel (marked), by Jimmy Hardin, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University
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'Preliminary results indicated that this site is integrated into a political entity that is typified by elite activities, suggesting that a state was already being formed in the 10th century BC,' Professor Hardin (pictured holding a bulla). Two seals have complete impressions, two have partial seal impressions, and two have none
'We are very positive that these bullae are associated with the Iron Age IIA, which we date to the 10th century BC, and which lends general support to the historical veracity of David and Solomon as recorded in the Hebrew biblical texts.
'These appear to be the only known examples of bullae from the 10th century, making this discovery unique.'
The finds contribute to an ongoing debate about whether governments or states existed in the early Iron Ages.
Professor Hardin said that the artefacts hold far-reaching implications for the growing number of scholars who maintain such political organisation occurred much later than biblical texts suggest.
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Biblical accounts claims David ruled the Kingdom of Israel and later Judah between 1010 BC until his death in 970BC. When David died (depicted), the reign was passed to his son Solomon. He was considered a wise king, and is said to have written the Song of Songs, Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
Babylonians DID burn Jerusalem 2,600 years ago: Charred wood, pottery and bones found in the City of David confirm scenes of devastation described in the Bible
- Researchers discovered charred wood, pottery and foods in the City of David
- They also found dozens of jars with stamped rosette seals on them
- The findings confirm the scene in the Bible which states that the Babylonians 'burned all the houses of Jerusalem'
Archaeologists have found evidence that the Babylonians were responsible for the burning of Jerusalem more than 2,600 years ago.
The researchers discovered charred wood, grape seeds, fish scales, bones and pottery along with numerous other artefacts which excavating the City of David.
The findings confirm the scene as described in the Bible, which states that the Babylonians 'burned all the houses of Jerusalem.'
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Archaeologists have found evidence that the Babylonians were responsible for the burning of Jerusalem more than 2,600 years ago. The researchers discovered charred wood, grape seeds, fish scales, bones and pottery (pictured) along with numerous other artefact
WHAT DID THEY FIND?
The researchers discovered a range of charred artefacts in the City of David.
This includes charred wood, grape seeds, fish scales, bones and pottery, as well as ozens of jars used to store grains and liquids – many of which have stamped handles and rosette seals.
One of the rarest findings was a small ivory statue of a naked woman with a haircut or wig in an Egyptian style.
The experts believe that this shows the skill of the artists living there.Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the charred artefacts while excavating the City of David in Israel's Jerusalem Walls National Park.
The burning of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was first described in The Book of Jeremiah, which states: 'He burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man's house, burned he with fire.'
As well as the charred wood, pottery and food items, the researchers also discovered dozens of jars used to store grais and liquids – many of which have stamped handles and rosette seals.
Ortal Chalaf and Dr Joe Uziel, directs of the excavation, said: 'These seals are characteristic of the end of the First Temple Period and were used for the administrative system that developed towards the end of the Judean dynasty.
Babylonians destroy Jerusalem 2600 years ago, research has found
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the charred artefacts while excavating the City of David in Israel's Jerusalem Walls National Park
WHO WERE THE BABYLONIANS?
The Babylonian Empire was the most powerful state in the ancient world after the fall of the Assyrian empire in 612 BCE.
Its capital, Babylon, was created by King Nebuchadnezzar, who erected several famous buildings.
The Babylonians were thought to be responsible for the burning of Jerusalem 2,600 years ago.
This was described in the Bible's Book of Jeremiah, which states: 'He burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man's house, burned he with fire.'
'Classifying objects facilitated controlling, overseeing, collecting, marketing and storing crop yields.
'The rosette, in essence, replaced the "For the King" seal used in the earlier administrative system.'
The archaelogists found the artefacts beneath layers of collapsed rock on the eastern side of the City of David.
One of the rarest findings was a small ivory statue of a naked woman with a haircut or wig in an Egyptian style.
The experts believe that this shows the skill of the artists living there.
Mr Chalaf and Dr Uziel said: 'The excavation's findings show that Jerusalem had extended beyond the line of the city wall before its destruction.
'The row of structures exposed in the excavations is located outside, beyond the city wall that would have constituted the eastern border of the city during this period.
As well as the charred wood, pottery and food items, the researchers also discovered dozens of jars used to store grains and liquids – many of which have stamped handles and rosette seals (pictured)
Experts discovered the charred artefacts while excavating the City of David in Jerusalem
'Throughout the Iron Age, Jerusalem underwent constant growth, expressed both in the construction of numerous city walls and the fact that the city later spread beyond them.
'Excavations carried out in the past in the area of the Jewish Quarter have shown how the growth of the population at the end of the 8th Century BCE led the annexation of the western area of Jerusalem.
'In the current excavation, we may suggest that following the westward expansion of the city, structures were built outside of the wall's border on the east as well.'
The findings confirm the scene as described in the Bible, which states that the Babylonians 'burned all the houses of Jerusalem'
WHY DID THE BABYLONIANS BURN JERUSALEM?
During the reign of King Jehoiakim, in 597 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged the city of Jerusalem, following a long struggle between Judah and Babylon.
The nation of Judah continued to exist under Babylonian rule with King Zedekiah installed in Jerusalem as a puppet king.
After King Zedekiah rebelled too, the city fell in 586 BC.
According to the Bible, the Babylonians burned all the houses of Jerusalem, stating: 'every great house he burned down.'
After the destruction of Jerusalem, Gedaliah was placed in charge as a governor in Judah, but he was killed two months after his appointment, causing many of the remaining Jews to flee to Egypt in fear of their lives.
This group of refugees included the prophet Jeremiah, who was forced against his will to go to Egypt.
THE TEL DAN-STELE AND THE HOUSE OF DAVID
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A large rock, known as the Tel Dan Stele (pictured), was discovered in the early 1990s and inscriptions on its surface reference a King of Israel and the House of David. Although the translation isn't complete, the eighth and ninth lines read: 'The king of Israel, and I killed [...]yahu son of [... the ki]/ng of the House of David'
The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that points to the rule of the House of David in the region.
A large rock, known as the Tel Dan Stele, was discovered in the early 1990s and inscriptions on its surface reference a King of Israel and the House of David.
Although the translation isn't complete, in particular, the eighth and ninth lines have been translated as: 'The king of Israel, and I killed [...]yahu son of [... the ki]/ng of the House of David. And I made [their towns into ruins].
The broken stele is currently on display at the at Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of its Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age exhibit.
The museum calls its inscription: 'the earliest extra-biblical reference to the House of David.'
Epigraphers and biblical historians are said to be in agreement that the letters 'bytdvd' on the stone refer to the House of King David.
In a separate study, Professor Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa discovered new archaeological and epigraphic data in northwestern Syria and southern Turkey.
This data is said to offer important information about the period of David's reign, and how far his rule reached.
According to Professor Galil's discoveries,after the victory of David king of Israel, over the Arameans, David would have controlled the entire area from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates.
This includes areas in Israel, Zobah and Palistin in the 10th century BC.
'Some text scholars and archaeologists have dismissed the historic reliability of the biblical text surrounding kings David and Solomon, such as recorded in the Bible in the books of Kings and Second Samuel, which scholars often date to the Iron Age IIA or 10th century BC,' Professor Hardin said.
'The fact that these bullae came off of sealed written documents shows that this site - located out on the periphery of pretty much everything - is integrated at a level far beyond subsistence.
'You have either political or administrative activities going on at a level well beyond those typical of a rural farmstead.'
The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that points to the rule of the House of David in the region.
A large rock, known as the Tel Dan Stele, was discovered in the early 1990s and inscriptions on its surface reference a King of Israel and the House of David.
KING DAVID AND SOLOMON: THE SECOND AND THIRD KINGS OF ISRAEL
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The most famous story about David is his battle with Goliath, (depicted) when under the reign of David's predecessor King Saul, warrior David took down the Philistine giant and saved the Israelities. Although he is referenced throughout the Bible, little archaeological evidence exists for his reign
The Bible claims David ruled the Kingdom of Israel and later Judah between 1010 BC until his death in 970BC.
He is referenced in the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles and mentions of the House of David were found inscribed on the Tel Dan Stele, believed to data back to around 840BC.
This suggests the existence of a mid-9th century BC royal household under the name of David.
He is seen as an important figure in various religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The most famous story about David is his battle with Goliath, when under the reign of David's predecessor King Saul, warrior David took down the Philistine giant and saved the Israelities.
Giant gates to Goliath's home discovered: Monumental fortification belonging to the Biblical city of Philistine Gath unearthed
Archaeologists say the gates appear to be the largest ever found in Israel
They have also uncovered formidable fortified walls around the gate
The gates to Gath are mentioned in the Bible as David flees from King Saul
Gath is also reputed to have been the home of the Philistine warrior Goliath
It was the Biblical city where the giant Goliath lived and one of the most powerful in the Philistine empire before it was destroyed in the ninth century BC.
Archaeologists have now uncovered the remains of an enormous gate and fortified wall which are giving clues to just how formidable the city of Gath may have been.
The monumental gate is the largest to ever be found in Israel and much like its most famous inhabitant – Goliath - it would have intimidated any who approached it.
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Archaeologists have discovered the remains of what they say is a monumental gate at the entrance to the Biblical city of Gath. They say the gate is the largest to be discovered in Israel. The aerial photograph above shows the remains of the gate and surrounding fortifications that have been unearthed
The gate of Gath is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in the story of David's escape from King Saul to Achish, the King of Gath.
Alongside the gate, researchers found the remains of a fortified wall with a temple and an iron production facility behind it.
THE BIBLE ON THE GATE OF GATH
There is just one reference to the gate of Gath in the book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible.
It depicts the story of David fleeing from King Saul, who has tried to have him killed.
It reads: 'David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath.
'The servants of Achish said to him, 'Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?'
'David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath.
'So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.
'Achish said to his servants, 'Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me?
''Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?'''
Writing on the team's blog, Professor Aren Maeir, an archaeologist from Bar-Ilan University in Israel who has been leading the excavation, said: 'It appears we have located a monumental city gate of the lower city of Gath.
'We still have to do a lot of cleaning, defining, digging and measuring to do, but it appears that there are really good chances we have truly landed on quite an astounding find.
'Many lines of megalithic stone are appearing, with nice corners, features and even mud bricks.
'While we are quite far from fully understanding this architectural complex, it is getting more and more impressive.
The more we look at the area – the larger these features appear to be
The remains of the city were discovered in the close to the village of Tell es-Safi in the Tel Zafit National Park, in the Judean foothills between Jerusalem and Ashkelon in Israel.
The city of Gath was one of five Philistine city-states and according to the Bible was the home of King Ashish and the Philistine warrior Goliath, who was killed by David.
It is thought to have been a powerful city during the time of Saul, David and Solomon around 3,000 years ago.
However, it was likely destroyed following a siege by Hazael King of Aram Damascus around 830 BC.
The city of Gath was supposed to be the home of Goliath, who was killed by David, as illustrated in the drawing by Gustave Doré on the left. Archaeologists have uncovered fortifications either side of of the gate, shown on the right, which they say would have made it a formidable place to attack
Professor Maeir and his colleagues say they have found evidence of the widespread destruction that took place in the city after the siege.
The site has been excavated for nearly 20 years now under the Ackerman Family Bar-Ilan University Expedition.
They have also found evidence of an earthquake which damaged the city in the 8th century BC and may be the disaster mentioned in the Book of Amos in the Hebrew Bible.
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Large stone blocks used to construct the gateway have been unearthed. The city of Gath was one of the most powerful in the area at the time before it was destroyed in 830BC by the King of Aram Damascus, Hazael
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Researchers have also found signs that there was large amounts of iron working being done in the area close to the gate. The image above shows a section of the ancient wall that surrounded the city of Gath
They have also found the earliest decipherable Philistine inscription, which includes two names similar to the name Goliath.
Professor Maeir and his team this year uncovered the gate and around 98 feet (30 metres) of the surrounding fortifications, which have been built with huge blocks of stones.
They say there appears to have been extensive iron smelting and working going on in the lower part of the city, close the gate during the 10th and 9th century BC before the city was destroyed.
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The excavation also uncovered buildings close to the gate and the fortified wall, shown in the image above
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When David died, the reign was passed to his son Solomon.
Solomon was considered a wise king, and is said to have written the Song of Songs, Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Solomon is also cited as building the first temple in Jerusalem, known as Solomon's Temple on Mount Zion.
This temple was later said to have been destroyed but no direct archaeological evidence to pinpoint its exact location has been discovered.
Solomon caused controversy for collecting vast amount of wealth and having 700 wives and 300 mistresses, including a foreign wife in the form of the daughter of a Pharaoh.
Solomon's reign was said to have lasted for 40 years.
It is currently on display at the at Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of its Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age exhibit.
The museum calls its inscription: 'the earliest extra-biblical reference to the House of David.'
Professor Hardin's findings are published in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology.
The journal article describes the dig site as a borderland area between what would have been the centre of Judah and Philistia.
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A separate study claims epigraphic data shows that after the victory of David over the Arameans, he would have controlled the entire area from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates (pictured)
It was originally assumed to be a small Iron Age farmstead.
However, the excavation of the bullae and other recent archaeological finds indicate a level of political organisation previously thought not to exist at that time.
'We believe that the aggregate material culture remains that have been discovered at Summeily demonstrate a level of political-economic activity that has not been suspected recently for the late Iron Age I and early Iron Age IIA,' the researchers wrote in the journal.
Two of the bullae Professor Hardin's team excavated have complete seal impressions, two have partial seal impressions, and two others have none.
Two of them were blackened by fire, but one bulla has a well-preserved hole where the string used to seal the document passed through the clay.
The impressions in the bullae do not contain writing.
The dig site was chosen so researchers could study border dynamics between the nations of Philistia and Judea in the area previously dated to the 10th century BC.
In a separate study, Professor Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa discovered new archaeological and epigraphic data in northwestern Syria and southern Turkey.
This data is said to offer important information about the period of David's reign, and how far his rule reached.
According to Professor Galil's discoveries, after the victory of David over the Arameans, he would have controlled the entire area from the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates.
This includes areas in Israel, Zobah and Palistin in the 10th century BC.
'We were trying to identify in the archaeological record the differences between Philistia and Judah,' Professor Hardin said.
'Why is there a border in this area and only at this time?
'We are trying to learn what was the process by which these political entities were created.
Within that larger question, you have a number of questions about whether the archaeological record matches the historical record from the texts, and if it disagrees, how do we reconcile the two.'
DAVID AND SOLOMON MYTHS
Many experts dismiss the rulers as mythological figures and claim no kingdom ever existed.
While other scholars believe they existed, but much later than the Bible suggests.
Although they are referenced throughout the Bible, and also considered important figures throughout Judaism and Islam, little archaeological evidence exists for their respective reigns.
For example, Solomon is cited as building the first temple in Jerusalem, known as Solomon's Temple on Mount Zion.
This temple was later said to have been destroyed, but no direct archaeological evidence to pinpoint its exact location has been discovered.
But, this may be due to the political issues involved with excavating religious sites such as Mount Zion.
The bullae the team found were in the layer of material tested by the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Rock Magnetism at the University of Minnesota.
The markings were examined and dated by Christopher Rollston, an epigrapher in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations at George Washington University.
Jeff Blakely from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said: 'Our dates for the bullae are based on multiple types of evidence we combined to determine a general 10th century BC date.'
'The style of the bullae, the types of ancient pottery found in the same contexts as the bullae, the types of Egyptian scarabs found, the style of an Egyptian amulet, and the overall stratigraphy or layering of the site each suggested a 10th century date.
'In addition, archaeomagnetism dating, which is based on the strength and direction of the earth's magnetic fields in the past, also suggested the layers in which the bullae were found must be 10th century.
'Further research and analysis should refine our dating to decades rather than a century,' he said.
British archaeologists have struck gold with a discovery that may solve the mystery of where the Queen of Sheba unearthed her fabled treasures.
According to the Bible, the ruler of Sheba, which spanned modern-day Ethiopa and Yemen, travelled to King Solomon in Jerusalem, bringing 120 talents (four-and-half tons) of gold.
Now an ancient goldmine, together with the ruins of a temple, has been found on the high Gheralta plateau in northern Ethiopia, part of the Queen's former territory.
Legendary: Gina Lollobrigida pictured as the Queen of Sheba, with Tyrone Power as Solomon in the 1959 film Solomon and Sheba
The entrance lay concealed behind a 20ft stone or slab carved with a sun and crescent moon, the 'calling card of the land of Sheba', according to excavation leader Louise Schofield.
Ms Schofield told the Observer: 'I crawled beneath the stone – wary of a 9ft cobra I was warned lives here – and came face to face with an inscription in Sabaean, the language that the Queen of Sheba would have spoken'
Nearby she found parts of columns and finely carved stone channels from a buried temple believed to be dedicated to a moon deity.
Excavations also revealed the site of a battlefield nearby, where Ms Schofield discovered ancient bones.
Archaeology: Louise Schofield stands by the spot where she has discovered the entrance to the Queen of Sheba's gold mine in Ethiopia
Local people still pan for gold in a nearby river, but they were unaware of the ancient mine complex beneath their feet.
The shaft is buried 4ft beneath the surface of a hill circled by vultures. An ancient skull is embedded above the entrance, which bears Sabaean chiselling.
An earlier depiction: The Queen of Sheba ruled over an area spanning modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen
Sheba was an 8th century BC civilisation that lasted a milennium, prospering through trade in incense spices with Jerusalem and the Roman empire.
Its legendary Queen is chronicled in both the Koran and the Bible, which describes her visiting Solomon 'with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold and precious stones'.
The Biblical account says the Queen was 'overwhelmed' by Solomon's wisdom and the happiness of his kingdom and, as she departed, 'she gave the king 120 talents of gold' - equal to about four-and-a-half tons.
Although it is not mentioned in the Bible, legend has it that Solomon also wooed the Queen and that descendants of their child, Menelik, became the kings of Abyssinia.
Ms Schofield told the Observer she will start a full excavation at of the mines once she has secured the funds.
She said: 'One of the things I've always loved about archaeology is the way it can tie up with legends and myths.
'The fact that we might have the Queen of Sheba's mines is extraordinary.'
In a discovery straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, archaeologists believe they have uncovered one of the lost mines of King Solomon.
The vast copper mine lies in an arid valley in modern-day Jordan and was created in the 10th century BC - around the time Solomon is believed to have ruled over the ancient Hebrews.
The mines are enormous and would have generated a huge income for the king, who is famed for bringing extraordinary wealth and stability to the newly-united kingdom of Israel and Judah.
Ancient: The outline of a large square fortress and more than 100 smaller buildings at Khirbat en-Nahas. The black slag indicates large-scale copper production occurred here
The announcement will today reopen the debate about how much of the Old Testament is myth and how much is history.
According to the Bible, Solomon was the third king of Israel. The son of King David, he was renowned for his wisdom, the size of his harem and the splendour of his kingdom.
During his reign, he is said to have accumulated a huge fortune from mining and trading, some of which was spent on building the grand temple and opulent palace of Jerusalem.
Archaeologists and treasure-hunters have searched for the mines for more than a century since the best-selling Victorian novel, King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard, claimed they could hold a treasure of gold and diamonds.
But now, it seems the real version could have been closer to home, supplying the king with copper.
Powerful: King Solomon supervises the building of a temple - archaeologists believe they have uncovered one of his lost mines
The ancient mine was found in a desolate region south of the Dead Sea in southern Jordan in an area called Khirbat en-Nahas, which means 'ruins of copper' in Arabic.
The region was known in the Old Testament as the Kingdom of Edom. By Solomon's time, it had become a vassal state, paying tribute to Jerusalem.
Digs at the site in the 1970s and 1980s suggested metalworking began there in the 7th century, long after the time of Solomon.
But Dr Thomas Levy, of the University of California, San Diego, and Mohammed Najjar, of Jordan's Friends of Archaeology, have dated it to the 10th century BC.
Dr Levy said: 'We have evidence that complex societies were indeed active in the 10th and 9th centuries BC and that brings us back to the debate about the historicity of the Bible narratives related to this period.
'We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us. But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.'
The ancient site contains around 100 buildings, including a fortress, in the middle of 24 acres of land covered in black slag. The mine works are covered with trials and holes, and are big enough to be seen on Google Earth's satellite images.
The team also found ancient Egyptian artifacts at the site including a scarab and amulet from the 10th century BC.
When Solomon died, his kingdom was thrown into chaos and the Pharaoh Sheshonq is believed to have attempted to crush economic activity.
The findings are reported in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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