King Solomon’s Wall Uncovered

June 1, 2010

“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. “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, enables 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.”

“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.” (See 1 Kings 3:1.)

The six-meter-high gatehouse has a symmetrical plan of four identical small rooms, two on each side of the main passageway. Also, there was a large, adjacent tower, covering an area of 24 x 18-meters [79 x 59 feet], which was intended to serve as a watchtower to protect entry to the city. The tower is located today under the nearby road and still needs to be excavated. British surveyor Charles Warren, who conducted an underground survey in the area, first described the outline of the large tower in 1867 but without attributing it to the era of Solomon. The tower’s courtyard served as a public meeting ground for conducting commercial activities and cult activities.

Found on the floor of the royal building near the gatehouse were remnants of large storage jars [1.15 meters or 3.7 feet high], one of which has a partial inscription in ancient Hebrew. “The jars…are the largest ever found in Jerusalem,” said Mazar, adding that “the inscription…shows that it belonged to a government official, apparently the person responsible for overseeing the provision of baked goods to the royal court.”

Between the large tower at the city gate and the royal building, archaeologists uncovered a section of the corner tower, built of carved stones of unusual beauty, that is eight meters [26 feet] in length and six meters [20 feet] high. East of the royal building, another section of the city wall that extends for some 35 meters [115 feet] also was revealed. This section is five meters [16 feet] high and is part of the wall that continues to the northeast and once enclosed the Ophel area.

Source: From a Hebrew University press release