Large Stone Structure (King David's Palace)

By the Editors of the Madain Project

The Large Stone Structure, is the name given to a set of possible remains of King David's Palace, interpreted by the excavator, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar, as being part of a single large public building in the City of David, presumably the oldest settlement core of Jerusalem.

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Overview

Mazar tentatively dated the findings to the tenth to ninth century BCE. Mazar chose this particular name for the alleged structure because of its proximity to another site known as the Stepped Stone Structure.

The interpretation of the remains as those of one single building, the suggested date, and the association with King David have all been challenged by other well-known archaeologists.

Archaeological Remains

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Notable Artefacts

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Seal of Yehuchal ben Shelemayahu

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Gedaliah Seal

Notes

Eilat Mazar, The Palace of King David: Excavations at the Summit of the City of David: Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005–2007 (Jerusalem and New York: Shoham Academic Research and Publication, 2009), 66–71. The identity of the seal owners as the biblical officials named in the book of Jeremiah is found to be very reasonable and—in light of the discovery of bullae in the City of David belonging to biblical persons Gemariah son of Shaphan (and, arguably, Azariah son of Hilkiah the priest)—entirely plausible, in Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, "Corrections and Updates to 'Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E.'" Maarav 16/1 (2009): 85–100. Distinctive features of the writing on the bullae indicate that all the above-mentioned bullae are from the late seventh or early sixth century BC

References

Eilat Mazar: Uncovering King David's Palace. Archived 2007-01-20.
Erlanger, Steven (2005-08-05). "King David's Palace Is Found, Archaeologist Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
Mazar, Eilat, Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005-2007, Shoham, Jerusalem and New York, 2009, pp. 52-3.
Mazar, Eilat, Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005-2007, Shoham, Jerusalem and New York, 2009, p. 52.
Herzog, H. and Sinver-Avitz, L., Redefining the Center: The Emergence of State in Judah, Tel Aviv, 31/2, 2004.
Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology and the biblical narrative: the case of the United Monarchy. 2010.
Faust, Avraham. "The large stone structure in the City of David: a reexamination." Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins (2010): 116-130.
Dever, William G. (2020-08-18). Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4674-5949-5.

Large Stone Structure (King David's Palace)

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Overview

Archaeological Remains

Notable Artefacts

Notes

See Also

References

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