Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate
A 7th-century BCE palace outside the walls with miniature proto-Aeolic capitals and carved window balustrades
Found 2020 — Yaakov Billig (Israel Antiquities Authority)
Where Armon Hanatziv promenade (Haas Promenade), south Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), overlooking the Temple Mount (Israel)
Dates from c. 700–586 BCE · Iron Age IIC · Manasseh and Josiah, kings of Judah
Now at Capitals with the Israel Antiquities Authority; site on the Armon Hanatziv promenade
How Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate was found
A salvage excavation for a visitors' center on the Armon Hanatziv promenade exposed the remains of a large building; three complete capitals and pieces of window balustrades were found, two capitals carefully laid one on the other as if buried on purpose. Announced September 2020.
What it is
Foundations of a monumental building with an ornamental garden, a stone toilet, and finely carved limestone: three small proto-Aeolic (volute) capitals of the type shown on Israel's five-shekel coin, plus miniature columns and capitals from window balustrades of the 'woman at the window' type known from ivories.
Why it matters for the Bible
Proto-Aeolic capitals are the signature of royal building in Israel and Judah, seen at Samaria, Megiddo, Ramat Rachel and the City of David. Finding them in a garden estate outside the walls, with a view straight to the Temple, shows that after Sennacherib's retreat Judah's kings felt secure enough to build fine houses in the open, matching the long, prosperous reign the Bible gives Manasseh. Its destruction in 586 BCE fits the Babylonian razing of 'every great house'.
The Hebrew word: ar-MOHN
אַרְמוֹן
אַרְמוֹן is pronounced ar-MOHN and means palace, citadel (Strong's H759).
People this discovery connects to
- Manasseh — מְנַשֶּׁה (me-nah-SHEH) — causing to forget
- Josiah — יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yoh-shee-YAH-hoo) — YHVH heals or supports
Places
- Jerusalem — יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (ye-roo-shah-LAH-yim) — foundation of peace
Events
Judah's recovery after the Assyrian siege of 701 BCE · Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem's great houses
Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate in Scripture
2 Kings 25:9 The Babylonians burn 'the king's house and every great house'; this estate was one of those great houses.
Jeremiah 22:14 Jeremiah mocks a king who builds a wide house with windows and cedar paneling; the balustrade fragments come from exactly such windows.
2 Chronicles 33:14 Manasseh's building activity in Yerushalayim; the estate's date range points to his reign.
Questions people ask
What is Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate?
Foundations of a monumental building with an ornamental garden, a stone toilet, and finely carved limestone: three small proto-Aeolic (volute) capitals of the type shown on Israel's five-shekel coin, plus miniature columns and capitals from window balustrades of the 'woman at the window' type known from ivories.
When was Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate discovered?
It was found in 2020 by Yaakov Billig (Israel Antiquities Authority), at Armon Hanatziv promenade (Haas Promenade), south Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), overlooking the Temple Mount.
Where is Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate today?
Capitals with the Israel Antiquities Authority; site on the Armon Hanatziv promenade.
Which Bible verses does Armon Hanatziv Royal Estate relate to?
2 Kings 25:9, Jeremiah 22:14, 2 Chronicles 33:14.
Related discoveries
- אֲשֵׁרָהJudean Pillar FigurinesThousands of little clay women from Judah's homes — Asherah, prayer aids or charms?
- תֹּפֶתThe Valley of Hinnom and the Tophet QuestionJeremiah's valley of child sacrifice: what archaeology has and has not found
- מַחֲרָאָהJerusalem's Iron Age Toilets and Their ParasitesThe Armon Hanatziv and Ahiel toilets, whose cesspit sediment holds the oldest known Giardia
- מִנְחָהEsarhaddon and Ashurbanipal Prisms Naming ManassehAssyrian tribute lists that include 'Manasseh, king of Judah'
- מִגְדָּלThe Israelite TowerAvigad's 8th–7th century BCE gate tower with Babylonian arrowheads in the ash of 586 BCE
- בֵּית יְהוָהArad Ostraca (the Eliashib Archive)Supply orders from a Judean desert fort naming the 'House of YHVH' and the Kittim
Sources
- Times of Israel, 'At popular Jerusalem promenade, archaeologists find a First Temple-era palace' (Sept 2020)
- Billig et al., 'A Luxurious Royal Estate from the First Temple Period in Armon ha-Natziv, Jerusalem' (2022)
- Biblical Archaeology Society, 'Architectural Artifacts from First Temple Period Found'