Excavations Proove the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians At The City of David

Evidence of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was presented during excavations at the Jerusalem Walls-City of David National Park.

During the excavations on the eastern slope of the City of David, structures 2,500 years old were revealed after being extricated from layers of stone. Lot of rare artefacts came up to the surface,such as: charred wood, grape seeds, pottery, fish scales and bones. They portray the character of Jerusalem, capital of the Judean Kingdom, and serve as a proof of the Babylonian destruction of the city.

Besides these findings, other dozens of storage jars, containers for both grain and liquids were found, with a stamped seal on them. One of the seals was a six–petal rose.

According to the excavation’s directors, Ortal Chalaf and Dr. Joe Uziel, the seals are characteristic of the end of the First Temple period and were used for the administrative system that developed toward the end of the Judean realm. The rosette, in essence, replaced the ‘For the King’ seal used in the earlier administrative system,” they explained.

The surfaced ornamental artefacts also convey the wealth of the city. Such rare ornament is a small ivory statue of a woman. The figure is naked, her hair or wig is in Egyptian style. It has a high quality carving and it’s a proof of a high artistic level and the skillfull artists during this era.

Chalaf and Uziel added that the excavation’s findings manifest that Jerusalem had spread  outside the city wall before it was destructed. A row of structures apears beyond the eastern border at that period. Furthermore,they suggest that the excavations carried out in the past in the Jewish Quarter area have shown that the growth of the population at the end of the eighth century BCE led to the annexation of the western area of Jerusalem.

They add that after the current excavation, they have concluded that following the westward expansion of the city, structures were built outside of the wall’s border on the east,too.

Source: sciencefactz.com, jpost.com