Large Stone Structure

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The Large Stone Structure is the name given to the remains of a large public building in central Jerusalem, south of the Old City, tentatively dated 10th to 9th century BCE. The name was given to the structure, as a result of its proximity with another site known as the Stepped Stone Structure, by the discoverer of the site, Eilat Mazar. Mazar, an Israeli archaeologist, announced the discovery on 4 August, 2005, and stated that she believed it may be the remains of King David's palace as recorded in the Books of Samuel. The archaeological dig was funded privately by Roger Hertog, an American banker.

Discovery

In 1997, Eilat Mazar, seeking to find the Palace of David, used a reference in the Books of Samuel that refers to David going down to the stronghold after having been anointed (2 Samuel 5:17), to estimate where the site might be. Since the only area of higher elevation than Ophel, the oldest part of Jerusalem, is just to its north, she started digging there in February 2005. About 2 meters underneath the surface she discovered 4th to 6th century AD Byzantine Era artifacts including a well preserved mosaic floor. Beneath these she found artifacts from the Second Temple Period, and finally underneath these she found large foundations of a substantial structure, which she claims to have been the Palace of David

One notable find at the site is a bulla (seal) of a government official named Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi. This person seems to be mentioned (twice) in the Book of Jeremiah who thus presumably lived in the late 7th century BC (i.e. at about the same time as Jeremiah).

The dig is ongoing, but progress is limited by the current occupants of the land atop the ruins. According to a New York Times article (referenced below),

Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian, and one Jewish.

Interpretation

The dig was sponsored by the Shalem Center, where Eilat Mazar is a senior fellow. Other archaeologists, particularly the group centered on Tel Aviv University, of which Israel Finkelstein is the leader, doubt that enough evidence has yet been produced to firmly place the structure in the tenth century BCE. Amihai Mazar has suggested that the site may be a Jebusite fortress - the fortress of Zion that the Books of Samuel claim was conquered by David.

Eilat Mazar dated the site by the different types of pottery found above and below the building's remains. The pottery below the foundation is dated by Eilat Mazar to the Iron Age I, and the pottery above is dated to the Iron Age II. Due to the Law of superposition (the empirical rule stating that, in general, the older things are lower down), this implies, according to Eilat Mazar, that the foundation - and hence the building - was constructed somewhere between Iron Age I and Iron Age II (roughly between the 11th and 10th centuries BC). However, Amihai Mazar has pointed out that though the structure clearly dates to after Iron Age I, since there is no floor and the Iron Age II pottery merely occurs between the walls, her terminus-ante-quem is flawed - the pottery gives no way of knowing how much later than Iron Age I the building was constructed (since the building could have been built around pre-existing Iron Age II pottery). Israel Finkelstein has also argued that (Eilat) Mazar's pottery dating is flawed (and motivated by the conclusion she desires), and that in fact the stones should be dated only to the 9th century - after the traditional date for David and Solomon, and during the reign of the house of Omri.

Most archaeologists, however, agree that the site is of major importance (despite not agreeing on what it actually was), and that the building was constructed in a manner that was at least similar to that of Phoenicia. This accords with the Biblical account that says that David's palace was built with help by Hiram of Tyre (a Phoenician).

References

Additional references

Mazar, Eilat (2006). "Did I Find King David's Palace? (PDF)". Biblical Archaeology Review 32:1 (January/February): 16-27,70.
King David palace may have been found - The Washington Times
Israelis seeking the palace of David dig up a dispute - Houston Chronicle
Fabled palace 'unearthed' - News24.com
Digging up biblical dynamite - Taipei Times
Shards of evidence The Jerusalem Post

Large Stone Structure

Discovery

Interpretation

References

Additional references

See also