Charred wooden beams dating back roughly 2,600 years, likely remnants of the destruction of Solomon's Temple, were recently uncovered by archaeologists beneath a parking lot in the City of David in Jerusalem. Israel Antiquities Authority See more of our coverage in your search results.
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Archaeologists have uncovered some millennia-old burnt wooden beams in Jerusalem that hark back to a dark event described in the Bible — the razing of King Solomon’s temple.
“This discovery makes you feel that you are witnessing the very moment of destruction, the moment when it all happened,” said excavation co-director Efrat Bocher of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Jerusalem Post reported.
The charred remains had reportedly been found underneath a parking lot in the City Of David during an excavation conducted by the IAA and Tel Aviv University, the IAA announced in July. They had been discovered in a building that was burned down in an inferno, the Times Of Israel reported.
Bocher theorized that they comprised the roof of an inner courtyard in a building from the First Temple period from 1000 BCE to 586 BCE.
When the structure caught fire, these support structures collapsed to the floor and were entombed by the plaster that melted off the building’s walls, which effectively preserved them for 2,600 years.
The First Temple, more popularly known as Solomon’s Temple, had originally been erected in the 10th century BC to house the Ark Of The Covenant, according to the Old Testament book of 1 Kings (6:14–22).
However, the holy site was destroyed in in 586 B.C. by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, who captured Jerusalem during a real-life siege that was also described in scripture.
Despite the degree of decimation, the researchers were able to date the beams precisely because of their unusually high number of growth rings.
“It is very rare in Israel to find wood with such a large number of growth rings,” said IAA radiocarbon dating expert Johanna Regev, adding that they offer “significant research potential — with more growth rings enabling higher dating resolution.”
She said while they previously could only date finds within “hundreds of years,” they can now narrow “the dating range down to as little as 10.”
Interestingly, archaeologists believe that the Israelites who helped rebuild Jerusalem after the temple’s destruction deliberately chose to leave the remnants intact as a reminder of this ancient act of arson.
“Preserving memory is a human need, seeking to preserve what once existed,” said IAA excavation director Yiftah Shalev. “Here we see it in its clearest form — a deliberate choice to leave ruins in place as a testament to the destruction and build the new layer over them.”
