Seven year dig brings evidence of Bible to light

Archeologists announced this week that after seven years of excavations they have uncovered what they believe to be the remains of two royal public buildings dating from the tenth century BC, at Khirbet Qeiyafa (Elah Fortress), a fortified city in Judah dating to the time of King David and identified with the biblical city of Shaarayim, located 30 kms south-west of Jerusalem, near Kibbutz Netiv Halamed Hei. Researchers Professor Yossi Garfinkel of the Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, declared that one of the buildings can be identified as the palace of King David, while they believe the other one was used as a royal storeroom. “Khirbet Qeiyafa is the best example exposed to date of a fortified city from the time of King David,” the two researchers explained.

“The southern part of a large palace that extended across an area of c. 1,000 sq m was revealed at the top of the city. The wall enclosing the palace is c. 30 m long and an impressive entrance is fixed it through which one descended to the southern gate of the city, opposite the Valley of Elah. Around the palace’s perimeter were rooms in which various installations were found – evidence of a metal industry, special pottery vessels and fragments of alabaster vessels that were imported from Egypt.”

“The palace is located in the center of the site and controls all of the houses lower than it in the city. From here one has an excellent vantage looking out into the distance, from as far as the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Hebron Mountains and Jerusalem in the east. This is an ideal location from which to send messages by means of fire signals. Unfortunately, much of this palace was destroyed c. 1,400 years later when a fortified farmhouse was built there in the Byzantine period.”

“A pillared building about 15 m long by 6 m wide was exposed in the north of the city, which was used as an administrative storeroom. According to the researchers, “It was in this building the kingdom stored taxes it received in the form of agricultural produce collected from the residents of the different villages in the Judean Plain. Hundreds of large store jars were found at the site whose handles were stamped with an official seal as was customary in the Kingdom of Judah for centuries.”

“The palace and storerooms are evidence of state sponsored construction and an administrative organization during King David’s reign. “This is unequivocal evidence of a kingdom’s existence, which knew to establish administrative centers at strategic points”, the archaeologists say.”

“To date no palaces have been found that can clearly be ascribed to the early tenth century BCE as we can do now. Khirbet Qeiyafa was probably destroyed in one of the battles that were fought against the Philistines circa 980 BCE. The palace that is now being revealed and the fortified city that was uncovered in recent years are another tier in understanding the beginning of the Kingdom of Judah.”