Have Archaeologists Discovered The Kingdom Of Judah Of King David?
2021 study examines archaeological evidence for early Judahite state
Not much proof has been directly connected to the first years of the Kingdom of Judah, although King David had a prominent role in the Hebrew Bible, leading to a number of experts believing that Judah just evolved into an advanced polity in the 9th or even 8th century BCE.
Recently, a 2021 research aims to disprove the opinion thanks to the discovery of an immense regional archaeological project in the Judean foothills, believed to be the birthplace of King David’s kingdom in the Bible.
Issued in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology, the study analyzed the archaeological discovery from 4 distinct locations in the Judean foothills: Khirbet Qeiyafa, Khirbet el-Ra’i, Socoh, and Lachish, revealing a small but rapidly growing kingdom during the Iron Age IIA period.
Archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel from Hebrew University indicates that the kingdom might have developed in Hebron before branching out north to involve Jerusalem, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Lachish, Beer Sheva in the Negev, and numerous other cities that would become huge administrative centers in the latter centuries of the Iron Age (c. 925–586).
The study used carbon-14 dating to determine the period that the fortified city of Khirbet Qeiyafa and the smaller village of Khirbet el-Ra’I existed: the early 10th century. Following the destruction of Qeiyafa, the neighboring city of Beth-Shemesh was designated to be the region’s predominant stronghold.
Subsequently, in the late 10th century, under the govern of Rehoboam, Lachish was fortified, proved by a massive 10-ft-wide city wall on the site’s northern slope uncovered by recent Hebrew University excavations. The wall dates back to the rule of Rehoboam, indicating that there are possibly many other sites in the Judean foothills that date back to Judah’s early years.
The earlier short of archaeological proof for the era can be explained with insufficient amount of data from excavated destruction layers, according to Garfinkel. The layers actually function as a preservation for several archaeological discoveries that would otherwise have been discarded or reused by a site’s residents.
As a result, periods of conflict often leave behind much clearer signs in the archaeological record. This can be seen especially towards the end of the Iron Age, where the destruction layers left behind by both the Assyrian and Babylonian armies are easily identified in many archaeological sites.
Not much proof has been directly connected to the first years of the Kingdom of Judah, although King David had a prominent role in the Hebrew Bible, leading to a number of experts believing that Judah just evolved into an advanced polity in the 9th or even 8th century BCE.
Recently, a 2021 research aims to disprove the opinion thanks to the discovery of an immense regional archaeological project in the Judean foothills, believed to be the birthplace of King David’s kingdom in the Bible.
Issued in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology, the study analyzed the archaeological discovery from 4 distinct locations in the Judean foothills: Khirbet Qeiyafa, Khirbet el-Ra’i, Socoh, and Lachish, revealing a small but rapidly growing kingdom during the Iron Age IIA period.
Archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel from Hebrew University indicates that the kingdom might have developed in Hebron before branching out north to involve Jerusalem, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Lachish, Beer Sheva in the Negev, and numerous other cities that would become huge administrative centers in the latter centuries of the Iron Age (c. 925–586).
Source: Yosef Garfinkel
The study used carbon-14 dating to determine the period that the fortified city of Khirbet Qeiyafa and the smaller village of Khirbet el-Ra’I existed: the early 10th century. Following the destruction of Qeiyafa, the neighboring city of Beth-Shemesh was designated to be the region’s predominant stronghold.
Subsequently, in the late 10th century, under the govern of Rehoboam, Lachish was fortified, proved by a massive 10-ft-wide city wall on the site’s northern slope uncovered by recent Hebrew University excavations. The wall dates back to the rule of Rehoboam, indicating that there are possibly many other sites in the Judean foothills that date back to Judah’s early years.
The earlier short of archaeological proof for the era can be explained with insufficient amount of data from excavated destruction layers, according to Garfinkel. The layers actually function as a preservation for several archaeological discoveries that would otherwise have been discarded or reused by a site’s residents.
As a result, periods of conflict often leave behind much clearer signs in the archaeological record. This can be seen especially towards the end of the Iron Age, where the destruction layers left behind by both the Assyrian and Babylonian armies are easily identified in many archaeological sites.
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