A 3,000-year-old defensive wall might be unprecedented
archaeological support for a Bible passage on King Solomon. Pictured on 22 February a newly excavated
Photograph by Menahem Kahana, AFP, Getty Images
Mati Milstein in Tel
Published 26 February 2010
A 3,000-year-old defensive wall possibly built by King
Solomon has been unearthed in
The tenth-century BC wall is 230 feet (70 meters) long
and about 20 feet (6 meters) tall. It stands along what was then the edge of
The stone barrier is part of a defensive complex that
includes a gatehouse, an adjacent building, and a guard tower, which has been
only partially excavated, according to Eilat Mazar, who led the dig for the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Over the years, the structures have been partially
demolished—their building materials scavenged for later structures—and what
remained was buried under rubble, Mazar said.
The Bible's First Book of Kings—widely believed to have
been written centuries after the time period in question—says Solomon, king of
Bearing Out a
Bible Passage?
Ancient artifacts found in and around the complex
pointed Mazar to the tenth-century BC date.
"We don't have many kings during the tenth century
that could have built such a structure, basically just David and Solomon,"
she said.
According to the Bible, King David, of
David-and-Goliath fame, was the father of King Solomon, who is said to have
built the First Temple of Jerusalem on the
Ceramics found near the wall helped narrow the date
down, being of a level of sophistication common to the second half of the tenth
century BC—King Solomon's time, according to Mazar.
Three-foot-tall (one-meter-tall) earthenware storage
vessels were found near the gatehouse, one of them with a Hebrew inscription
indicating the container belonged to a high-ranking government official.
Figurines typical of tenth-century BC
Jerusalem—including four-legged animals and large-breasted women likely
symbolizing fertility—were also uncovered, as were jar handles bearing
impressions reading "to the king" and various Hebrew names, she said.
The artifacts may hint at the area's street life in
biblical times. Here ancient Jerusalemites would have gathered around the
wall's city gate to trade, settle disputes via street-side judges, engage in
ritual practices, and stock up on water and supplies for treks out of the city,
Mazar said.
(Also see "Solomon's
Temple Artifacts Found by Muslim Workers.")
How Reliable
Is the Bible?
But Finkelstein cautioned against leaning too heavily
on the Bible to interpret the findings. (Related travel blog post: "In
Familiarity with religious or historic texts connected
to any given site is important, he said, but their usefulness can vary.
"It depends upon the text. Each has its own
characteristics, each needs to be approached differently," he said.
"There is the question as to when it was written—300 years after, or at
the time of the events? What are its goals and its ideology? Why was it
written?"
For her part, Mazar believes it's natural for
archaeologists excavating in the
"I don't believe there is an archaeologist who
would excavate a site upon which texts have been written without being familiar
with those texts," she said.