Walls of Jerusalem 1000 BCE Found?

I did not note this was presented in the Forum, and thought some would definately find the following of interest. I apologize if it has been previously posted.

It seems we are finding more EVIDENCE of an Ancient ISRAELI State, and the remains of it's King's City each and every year.

I still do not expect to see the "World" Change it's views on a Revived Israel, especially within the Arab Community, but I makes be wonder, exactly what it will take for the acceptance that Israel today, is living in the Israel of yesterday.

Walls

A section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E.—possibly built by King Solomon—has been revealed in archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar and conducted under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The section of the city wall revealed, 70 meters long and six meters high, is located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount. Uncovered in the city wall complex are: an inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron valley.

So this would seem to be in a "Location" which would verify the previous suggestions that David's Palace was found recently.

It is also clear, the inhabitants where not the day to day Bedouin.

"The city wall that has been uncovered testifies to a ruling presence. Its strength and form of construction indicate a high level of engineering", Mazar said. The city wall is at the eastern end of the Ophel area in a high, strategic location atop the western slop of the Kidron valley.

"A comparison of this latest finding with city walls and gates from the period of the First Temple, as well as pottery found at the site, enable us to postulate with a great degree of assurance that the wall that has been revealed is that which was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the tenth century B.C.E.," said Mazar

"This is the first time that a structure from that time has been found that may correlate with written descriptions of Solomon's building in Jerusalem," she added. "The Bible tells us that Solomon built -- with the assistance of the Phoenicians, who were outstanding builders -- the Temple and his new palace and surrounded them with a city, most probably connected to the more ancient wall of the City of David."

Other objects also seem to verify this find and the dating of it.

Pottery shards discovered within the fill of the lowest floor of the royal building near the gatehouse also testify to the dating of the complex to the 10th century B.C.E. Found on the floor were remnants of large storage jars, 1.15 meters in height, that survived destruction by fire and that were found in rooms that apparently served as storage areas on the ground floor of the building. On one of the jars there is a partial inscription in ancient Hebrew indicating it belonged to a high-level government official.

"The jars that were found are the largest ever found in Jerusalem," said Mazar, adding that "the inscription that was found on one of them shows that it belonged to a government official, apparently the person responsible for overseeing the provision of baked goods to the royal court."

In addition to the pottery shards, cult figurines were also found in the area, as were seal impressions on jar handles with the word "to the king," testifying to their usage within the monarchy. Also found were seal impressions (bullae) with Hebrew names, also indicating the royal nature of the structure. Most of the tiny fragments uncovered came from intricate wet sifting done with the help of the salvaging Temple Mount Sifting Project, directed by Dr. Gabriel Barkai and Zachi Zweig, under the auspice of the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation.

Between the large tower at the city gate and the royal building the archaeologists uncovered a section of the corner tower that is eight meters in length and six meters high. The tower was built of carved stones of unusual beauty.

East of the royal building, another section of the city wall that extends for some 35 meters also was revealed. This section is five meters high, and is part of the wall that continues to the northeast and once enclosed the Ophel area.

I look forward to hear what else they locate in this Historic City, Jerusalem.

Ciao

Shane

I also found the following, in respects to these structures being found under the rubble of Jerusalem.

Nat Geo Walls

......A 3,000-year-old defensive wall possibly built by King Solomon has been unearthed in Jerusalem, according to the Israeli archaeologist who led the excavation. The discovery appears to validate a Bible passage, she says.

The tenth-century B.C. wall is 230 feet (70 meters) long and about 6 meters (20 feet) tall. It stands along what was then the edge of Jerusalem—between the Temple Mount, still Jerusalem's paramount landmark, and the ancient City of David, today a modern-day Arab neighborhood called Silwan......

Thanks for the link, I enjoy reading up on ancient Israel.

I guess an answer to my question in the First Post, has arrived and due to such a find. We see this is Fanning the flames of apparent discontent, along with assine comments made by antagonists of both sides of a divided City.

A row about holy places threatens to engulf the Holy Land in new violence

The leaders of Israel and Palestine, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, are trying, separately, to contain a week-long wave of riots in West Bank cities that threatens to turn into a new Palestinian uprising. Yet the two men themselves ignited the religious passions that fuel this latest violence. And, while they now seek to control the flames, they are both still feeding them with disingenuous, incendiary statements, instead of putting them out.

Mr Netanyahu bears the primary responsibility. On February 21st he announced that the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem would be listed among some 150 national heritage sites that his government proposes to refurbish.

What to Jews is the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Biblical burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, is to Muslims the Ibrahimi Mosque, a hallowed place of worship—Muslims venerate Abraham, too—for more than 1,000 years.

The shrine, heavily guarded by the Israeli army, has for years been a flashpoint of strife between Hebron’s 160,000-strong Muslim citizens and the few hundred Jewish settlers who have made their homes near the tomb. Even the American State Department, usually loth to castigate Israel, called Mr Netanyahu’s decision provocative and unhelpful.

Mr Abbas put his oar in by accusing Mr Netanyahu of inciting “religious war”. This statement was seen by youngsters on the West Bank—as he must have known it would—as a signal to take to the streets. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Gaza-based prime minister, called on West Bankers to rise up in a new intifada. Mr Netanyahu made matters worse by accusing Mr Abbas of stirring things up with “lies and hypocrisy”. The disingenuousness of his own position—he loudly proclaimed Israel’s respect for freedom of worship—was made manifest when he admitted that the shrines in Hebron and Bethlehem had not been on his original list of heritage sites but were added after pressure from his religious coalition partners.

and

Current combustibles are similarly ominous. In East Jerusalem, encouraged by the city’s ultra-nationalist mayor, Nir Barkat, a group of religious Jewish settlers have been strong-arming their way into the Palestinian suburb of Sheikh Jarrah. Other settlers have made their homes in Silwan, another Palestinian area. Many of them are involved in a vast archaeological dig nearby that has unearthed impressive remains from the time of the Bible.

Archaeology, history, religion and politics all rub up dangerously against each other here. The Israelis seek to prove that David and Solomon and the other ancient Israelites were historical figures and not mere legend. The Palestinians accuse them of sifting out non-Israelite strata of ancient Jerusalem civilisations, and of digging as a way of extirpating present-day Palestinians from their homes.

I wish the "accusers" could just accept FACT, and Learn to Live with that FACT, but this is likely impossible.

Peace, Peace, Peace. We need Peace!

Maybe it is, as the Honourable Hugo Chavez once requested, time for this City to be taken under control of the United Nations and established as the Capital of the World. The esteemed U.N. is already there, in some capacity, so they may as well set themselves up as the Governing body of Jerusalem and seperate these spoiled brats, (The Jews and the Palestinians).

Hugo suggested

All this happened over the United Nations. That is why we propose this Assembly that the United Nations should leave a country that does not respect the resolutions taken by this same Assembly. Some proposals have pointed out to Jerusalem as an international city as an alternative. The proposal is generous enough to propose an answer to the current conflict affecting Palestine. Nonetheless, it may have some characteristics that could make it very difficult to become a reality. That is why we are bringing a proposal made by Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of the South, in 1815. Bolívar proposed then the creation of an international city that would host the idea of unity.

We believe it is time to think about the creation of an international city with its own sovereignty, with its own strength and morality to represent all nations of the world. Such international city has to balance five centuries of unbalance.

Aah Hugo, truely a 21st Century Man.

Ciao

Shane