New Evidence of Jerusalem’s Urban Development in the 9th Century BCE (original) (raw)
Related papers
Springer, 2023
The article offers critical reviews on several recent publications, which deal with the archaeology of Jerusalem: The location of the Bronze and Iron Age mound, the Middle Bronze remains, the pre-eighth century finds, the results of the excavations in the Ophel and the Persian and Hellenistic finds in the Givati Parking Lot. It then presents an update on the settlement history of the city between the Middle Bronze and the Hellenistic period. Keywords Jerusalem • City of David • Temple Mount • Ophel • Gihon Spring • Givati Parking Lot • Middle Bronze • Iron IIA • Persian period • Hellenistic period In recent years I have published several articles that deal with the settlement history of Jerusalem from the Middle Bronze to the late Hellenistic period (among others, Finkelstein et al., 2011; Finkelstein, 2008, 2012). Research in Jerusalem is exceptionally dynamic; accordingly, a series of recent publications require attention. This article is divided into two parts. The first includes rejoinders to new publications, both field results (
The Monumentality of Iron Age Jerusalem Prior to the 8th Century BCE.
Tel Aviv., 2017
The article reviews the chrono-stratigraphy of the City of David ridge—the site traditionally considered as the location of Bronze and Iron Age Jerusalem. Several scholars have recently challenged this conventional view, arguing that the southeastern hill became part of the city only in the 8th century BCE. Five stratigraphic anchors are discussed in detail, including the finds from Kenyon’s Section A, remains surrounding the Gihon Spring and the stratigraphic sequence in Area E. These, as well as remains excavated in Area G and the ‘Ophel’, show that at least three Iron II construction phases need to be taken into account, the earliest probably dating to before the middle of the 8th century BCE.
Acta Fakulty filozofické, Ivo Budil (ed.), 2014
Israel as the Holy Land has been the focus of archaeologists for more than 200 years (the first excavations took place in 1810 in Ashkelon), and the city of Jerusalem has been explored for almost 180 years (Robinson, 1838). There are a substantial number of archaeologists who have had various motivations to dig in Jerusalem. The understanding of the occupation of this city has been an important issue until the present. This paper approaches the history of excavations as well as the important finds from the part of Jerusalem that is known as the City of David. Excavations in Jerusalem are problematic, because in the Old City there is not too much open space where it is possible to excavate. The majority of the Old City area is covered with modern buildings. There is no possibility for archaeologists to excavate on the platform at the Temple Mount. This is why current research is focused on the City of David, the Ophel and some areas around the Temple Mount (tunnels and the Western Wall Plaza). Only in the City of David is it possible to see continuous settlement from the Epipaleolithic period to the modern period, because of the presence of only one source of water up to the Roman period.
Revue Biblique, 2008
In this rejoinder to a recent article by Nadav Na'aman, I suggest that: A) The expansion of Jerusalem to the southwestern hill and the settlement prosperity in the Judahite countryside did not start before the middle of the 8 th century and reached their peak in the last third of that century; B) The population growth in Jerusalem and Judah was so dramatic that it can be explained only on the background of the incorporation of the kingdom into the Assyrian world economy and the wave of refugees that came from the Northern Kingdom; C) There is no evidence for a demographic decrease in Jerusalem in the late 7 th century B.C.