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Overlooking the verdant Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David toppled Goliath, archaeologists are unearthing a 3,000-year-old fortified city that could reshape views of the period when David ruled over the Israelites. –
The NY Times reports The five-acre site, with its fortifications, dwellings and
multi-chambered entry gate, will also be a weapon in the contentious
and often politicized debate over whether David and his capital,
Jerusalem, were an important kingdom or a minor tribe, an issue that
divides not only scholars but those seeking to support or delegitimize
Zionism.
Only a tiny portion of the site has been excavated, and
none of the findings have yet been published or fully scrutinized. But
the dig, led by Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is
already causing a stir among his colleagues as well as excitement from
those who seek to use the Bible as a guide to history and confirmation
of their faith.
AP reports An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south
of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient
town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that
could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the
Holy Land at the time of the Bible.
The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the
ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are
indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of
the Old Testament’s King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew
University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa.
The Jerusalem Post reports The site overlooks the Elah Valley, said to be the scene of the slingshot showdown between David and Goliath, and lies near the ruins of Goliath’s hometown in the Philistine metropolis of Gat.
A teenage volunteer found the curved pottery shard, 15 centimeters by 15 centimeters, in July near the stairs and stone washtub of an excavated home. It was later discovered to bear five lines of characters known as proto-Canaanite, a precursor of the Hebrew alphabet.
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aBetterWay Archaeology, Bible, Cult, Culture, History, Israel, Old Testament, Santa, University, Zionism
