Archaeologists unearth King David era temple near Jerusalem

Israel’s Antiquities Authority (IAA) has announced that archaeologists have unearthed a temple within walking distance of Jerusalem that appears to be approximately 2,750 years old. Artifacts found inside the temple suggest that despite the ban on idol worship at the time, those who visited the temple continued to engage in such practices.

At the time that the temple was in use, a period during the King David era, the First Temple, in Jerusalem had already been built, and worshippers had been instructed to use it instead of other facilities to discourage the worship of various idols. Artifacts found inside the temple show that the people who visited the temple had chosen to ignore the decree and instead continued to idolize their icons as they chose. What’s surprising, the researchers note, is how close the temple, and hence the ongoing idol worshiping practices, were to Jerusalem – close enough to walk.

The discovery of the temple has historians excited because very few of them from that era have survived to modern times. Also, notably, researchers have found figurines inside the temple, representing animals – and some human – that hint, they say, of a coastal Philistine influence. They note that much more research will have to be undertaken before an accurate picture of the temple and surrounding area can be made.

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The discovery was made during excavations at the Tel Motza archaeological site, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Jerusalem, during preparations for work on a new section of Israeli's Highway 1, the agency said in a statement.

"The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea at the time of the First Temple," excavation directors Anna Eirikh, Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz were quoted as saying in the statement.

The newly discovered structure has massive walls and a wide, east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction at the time, the site directors said. "The rays of the sun rising in the east would have illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine presence within," they said.

Inside the temple, archaeologists found what appeared to be a square altar, with a cache of ritual items nearby. Those items included fragments of pottery chalices, decorated ritual pedestals and two types of pottery figurines. Some of the figurines represented animals — mainly horses in harnesses— while others were humanlike heads with curling hair and flat headdresses.

reply to post by mcx1942


I would be intrigued as to what kind of 'idol worship' items were found. To me this rings of Solomon's temple, especially if they dig out any objects regarding the sun and moon.

It just blows my mind how they find new things in this tiny little town after all these years, and all the development, and all the destruction! For thousands of years people have built up, torn down, and rebuilt on the same plot of land its mind blowing. Great find!

reply to post by wjones837


I completely agree, it just goes to show how much is still undiscovered. Despite the way the MSM depict the world, we live in such a fascinating time. The next 50+ years are going to be something. So many new discoveries still just sitting there, patiently waiting to be unearthed. I believe Gobekli Tepe is only about 10% uncovered, dated to be from 9,000 BC. That is just an example, who knows what is out there to still be found.

reply to post by mcx1942

Philistine influence.

I was thinking. Idol worship, David, just outside the parameters of Jerusalem, alter ? Philistines ! I'm getting pretty good at this stuff. For a lay back, armchair, archaeological wannabe, dirt sift'in, but stuck here key punch'in in So Cal. desert rat.

SnF for a very interesting post.