Archaeologists Discover Temple That Sheds Light On So-called Dark Age

Archaeologists Discover Temple That Sheds Light On So-called Dark Age
From ScienceDaily.com

The discovery of a remarkably well-preserved monumental temple in Turkey — thought to be constructed during the time of King Solomon in the 10th/9th-centuries BCE — sheds light on the so-called Dark Age.

"Our ongoing excavations have not only begun to uncover extensive remains from this Dark Age, but the emerging archaeological picture suggests that during this period Tayinat was the capital of a powerful kingdom, the ‘Land of Palastin’," says Timothy Harrison, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Toronto and the director of the project. "Intriguingly, the early Iron Age settlement at Tayinat shows evidence of strong cultural connections, if not the direct presence of foreign settlers, from the Aegean world, the traditional homeland of the Sea Peoples."

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Blackmarketeer]

hmm...very interesting find. I hope that this discovery could lead to some asnwers. Since it was in the time of King Solomon maybe it has the location of his rich mines. I kid I kid.

The discovery of a remarkably well-preserved monumental temple in Turkey — thought to be constructed during the time of King Solomon in the 10th/9th-centuries BCE — sheds light on the so-called Dark Age.

Ok this would be worth following and trying to see what the Archaeologists would say about this temple. Yet I find it very disturbing that for someone to have a higher education then I do could so erroneously state that “thought to be constructed during the time of King Solomon in the 10th/9th-centuries BCE — sheds light on the so-called Dark Age”.
I say this because the Dark Age did not come until after the fall of the Roman Empire. King Solomon was before Jerusalem was sacked by Babylon, which happened before Alexander the Great even started his conquests. So on a time line of what history shows us, this reporter or Archaeologists is incorrect with either his/her words or has no working knowledge of what is being taught as history.
“Our ongoing excavations have not only begun to uncover extensive remains from this Dark Age, but the emerging archaeological picture suggests that during this period Tayinat was the capital of a powerful kingdom, the ‘Land of Palastin’," says Timothy Harrison, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Toronto and the director of the project. "Intriguingly, the early Iron Age settlement at Tayinat shows evidence of strong cultural connections, if not the direct presence of foreign settlers, from the Aegean world, the traditional homeland of the Sea Peoples."

Now if Timothy Harrison is try to say the remains are from a time when little is know thus referring to it as this Dark Age, well then I will retract my statement and leave only a request that clarifies what he is saying. For even the title to this thread has me thinking of King Henry, Pope Bontiface, or King Richard and not King Solomon time frame.

reply to post by averagejoeshmoe
Yes, the reference to King Soloman also has me puzzled. The time of the dark ages dosen't add up with him. Maybe it was just a typo.

This is not in reference to the European middle ages, but a dark age following the collapse of the bronze age powers.

Ancient sources — such as the Homeric epics and the Hebrew Bible — depict an era of widespread famine, ethnic conflict and population movement, most famously including the migrations of the Sea Peoples (or biblical Philistines) and the Israelites. This is thought to have precipitated a prolonged Dark Age marked by cultural decline and ethnic strife during the early centuries of the Iron Age.

See Tayinat Archaeological Project at the University of Toronto, www.utoronto.ca...

Tell Ta’yinat forms a large low-lying mound located 45 kilometres west of Antakya (ancient Antioch) in Southeastern Turkey. The Chicago excavations uncovered the remains of several large palaces (called bit hilani), a temple (famously compared with Solomon's temple), and numerous beautifully carved stone reliefs and sculptures demonstrated that the site preserves a lengthy settlement history that spans the Early Bronze (ca 3000 2000 BCE) and Iron Age (ca. 1200 550 BCE) periods. In addition, the Expedition discovered numerous inscriptions (in Luwian/Neo Hittite, Neo-Assyrian and Aramaic), which helped to identify the site as ancient Kunulua, capital of the Neo Hittite/Aramaean Kingdom of Patina/Unqi.