3000-year-old wall dating back to Solomon found in Jerusalem

If the age of the wall is correct, the Bible’s saying that Solomon and David ruled from Jerusalem may be correct. The wall is 6 meters high and is located on the outside of Temple Mount.

“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 revealed was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the 10th century B.C.E.,” said dig director archaeologist Eilat 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. 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,” Mazar added.

According to the Old Testament, it was Solomon who built the first Jewish Temple on the site. However, that temple was destroyed by Babylonians.

Jar handles bear words “to the king”
Along with the wall, seal impressions on jar handles were discovered. They bore the words “to the king.”

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

The wall includes a monumental gatehouse and a 70-meter long section of another ancient wall.

Excavations carried out thrice before
This is not the first time that excavations have been carried out in this part of Jerusalem. In Dec. 2008, archaeologists found remains of a walled city, which the Bible claims is the place where David killed Goliath.

Hebrew University professor Yosef Garfinkel had then said that the finding proved David a ruler of the kingdom.

Archaeologists have also excavated the fortifications in 1860s and 1980s. However, Mazar claims her dig was the first complete excavation.

Aren Maeir, an archeology professor at Bar Ilan University, said that some biblical accounts were accurate but it is not entirely true.

“The truth was likely somewhere in the middle. There's a kernel of historicity in the story of the kingdom of David,” he said.