BY : Michael Foust CrosswalkHeadlines Contributor
“The new research sheds light on one of the longstanding and controversial research questions regarding the nature and scope of Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon and thereafter: the findings from the new research indicate that there was a widespread settlement in Jerusalem during this period,” the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in a news release.
As part of the research, scientists studied grape seeds, date pits, bat skeletons, and other natural materials found in structures at four different excavation areas in the City of David on the eastern and western slopes.
“Measuring the amount of carbon in the organic material and calculating it together with other variables allowed the researchers to accurately date many findings in the City of David,” IAA said in a news release.
Specifically, researchers used ancient tree rings from Europe to “create a precise timeline of single-year dates,” from which it is “possible to accurately learn about fluctuations in the percentage of carbon-14 in the atmosphere,” IAA said.
“It helped to scientifically reconstruct for the first time the history of Jerusalem from 1200 BCE — before the days of David and Solomon according to the biblical description — to the Babylonian destruction in 586 BCE,” the organization said.
The scientific study, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “brings tantalizing clues that the city was already an important urban center in David and Solomon’s time and not an insignificant village, as scholars more skeptical of biblical historicity have long maintained.”
Photo Credit: ©Israel Antiquities Authority
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