Shaul, David & Shlomo — biblical archaeology discoveries

c. 1050–931 BCE. 39 archaeological finds from this period that run alongside the biblical story: what was found, who found it, why it matters, the Hebrew word to know, and the Scripture passages each discovery touches.

• Khirbet Qeiyafa
  A fortified Judahite city with two gates overlooking the Elah Valley · found 2007
• Khirbet Qeiyafa Ostracon
  Five lines of early alphabetic writing from the days of David · found 2008
• צְלָעוֹת
  Khirbet Qeiyafa Model Shrines
  Two miniature shrines with architecture echoing Solomon's Temple · found 2011
• Ishbaal son of Beda Inscription
  A jar bearing the same name as Saul's son · found 2012
• Gezer Calendar
  A farmer's year scratched on limestone in the oldest Hebrew-style script · found 1908
• Six-Chambered Gates of Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer
  Three matching city gates and the debate over who built them · found 1958
• Gezer Boundary Inscriptions
  Rock-cut markers reading 'boundary of Gezer' that identified the biblical city · found 1874
• Gezer Tenth-Century Destruction Layer
  A burned city that may be the pharaoh's 'dowry' destruction · found 2006
• Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace')
  Massive walls in the City of David that one excavator called David's palace · found 2005
• Stepped Stone Structure
  A giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo · found 1923
• עֹפֶל
  Ophel Pithos Inscription
  The oldest alphabetic writing found in Jerusalem · found 2012
• Ophel Wall and Gatehouse
  A fortification line south of the Temple Mount attributed to Solomon · found 1986
• Bubastite Portal of Shoshenq I (Shishak)
  Pharaoh's victory list at Karnak naming towns of Israel and Judah · found 1828
• Megiddo Shoshenq Stele Fragment
  A piece of Pharaoh Shishak's monument found in the city his list names · found 1926
• Tel Rehov Apiary
  The oldest industrial beehives ever found, in a 'land of honey' · found 2005
• Timna Valley Copper Mines and 'Slaves' Hill'
  Tenth-century smelting camps and a scrap of royal purple cloth · found 1934
• Khirbet en-Nahas (Faynan Copper Center)
  A fortress and slag mounds in Edom dated to the tenth century · found 1934
• Tel 'Eton Governor's Residency
  A tenth-century ashlar building in the Judean lowlands · found 2006
• Tel Beersheba Planned City
  A royal administrative town laid out on a single plan in the Negev · found 1969
• Beersheba Horned Altar
  A dismantled four-horned altar from an Israelite border town · found 1973
• Tel Arad Fortress and Temple
  A Judahite border fort with the only excavated YHVH temple · found 1962
• Lachish Level V
  The first Judahite town at Lachish and the question of Rehoboam's wall · found 1932
• Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower
  Giant fortifications guarding Jerusalem's only spring · found 1995
• Warren's Shaft
  The vertical shaft above the Gihon once thought to be David's way into Jerusalem · found 1867
• חָרְמָה
  Tel Masos
  A large open settlement in the Beersheba Valley on the eve of the monarchy · found 1972
• Megiddo Ashlar Palaces (Stratum VA–IVB)
  Two fine-stone palaces claimed for Solomon's district capital · found 1935
• Proto-Aeolic Capitals and Ashlar Masonry
  The signature stonework of Israelite and Judahite royal buildings · found 1903
• Ahiram Sarcophagus
  A Byblos king's coffin with the earliest full Phoenician alphabet · found 1923
• Ain Dara Temple
  A Syrian temple that is the closest surviving parallel to Solomon's Temple · found 1955
• Tell Tayinat Temples
  Long-room temples beside a palace, like Solomon's Temple next to his house · found 1936
• Tel Motza Temple
  An Iron IIA temple a few miles from Jerusalem · found 2012
• Tel Zayit Abecedary
  The oldest complete alphabet from a Judahite site · found 2005
• Tel Beth Shemesh Iron IIA Town
  A border town of Judah facing the Philistines, with a giant water reservoir · found 1911
• Khirbet a-Ra'i (Ziklag?)
  A Philistine-era site proposed as David's town of refuge · found 2015
• Gibeah of Saul (Tell el-Ful)
  Albright's Iron Age fortress on the ridge north of Jerusalem, beneath an unfinished royal palace · found 1922
• Jerusalem's Rock-Cut Northern Moat
  A 9-metre-deep trench that cut the City of David off from the Temple Mount, identified in 2023 · found 2023
• מִלּוֹא
  The Millo: Where Was It?
  The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo · found 1923
• Axum Chapel of the Tablet
  Ethiopia's claim to hold the Ark of the Covenant · found 1965
• Nebi Samwil (Tomb of Samuel) Excavations
  The hilltop shrine of Samuel — and the search for Gibeon's 'great high place' · found 1992

← All 533 discoveries by era

Open Hebrew Explorer — 30+ free study tools →