An archaeologist from Hebrew University has made a controversial discovery about the fortified cities that surround the Jerusalem.
According to a report published by the Times of Israel, the archaeologist discovered cities that appeared to be more than 200 years older than experts previously believed. They also claimed that these might date back to the time of King David.
The evidence supporting the said theory reportedly came from an academic paper published in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology. The findings were gathered through a thorough review of old archaeological publications.
According to Professor Yosef Garfinkle from Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, King David’s kingdom was a fully-developed realm with interconnected cities and roads.
However, Garfinkle’s claim became controversial as it contradicted the previous belief that David’s kingdom might have been exaggerated in the Bible due to the lack of archaeological evidence.
“What is a kingdom?” Garfunkel countered. “You need cities and roads and military power and economic power and writing.”
Moreover, Garfinkle examined in his paper the archaeological evidence of five cities from the time of King David, which are all located within a 36-hour walk from Jerusalem. The author noted that these cities share similar urban concepts and are situated on the border of the kingdom. Each city has a main road leading to Jerusalem.
“If you take all these sites, they have the same urban concept, they are all sitting on the border of the kingdom and sitting where you have a main road leading to the kingdom,” he said.
“These cities aren’t located in the middle of nowhere. It’s a pattern of urbanism with the same urban concept,” the author added.
In addition, Garfinkle’s analysis also revealed that the five cities have comparable layouts, with outer walls surrounding dwellings and three of them featuring internal casemate walls parallel to the outer walls.
The sites reportedly include inscriptions in proto-Canaanite and Canaanite. Garfinkle believes that they indicate a centralized authority during that period.
As each of the five sites was independently excavated using various archaeological methods, Garfinkle’s paper connects them into a coherent urban network.
Furthermore, he also dates these sites to approximately 1000 BC, which aligns with the time King David ruled during the Iron Age from around 1010 to 970 BC.
