Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace')
Massive walls in the City of David that one excavator called David's palace
Found 2005 — Eilat Mazar (Hebrew University / Shalem Center)
Where City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), Area G north (Israel)
Dates from c. 1000–900 BCE (excavator); later by critics · Iron Age IIA (disputed) · Reign of David
Now at In situ, City of David archaeological park, Jerusalem
How Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') was found
Mazar predicted from 2 Samuel 5:17 that David's palace lay just north of the Stepped Stone Structure, dug there in February 2005, and announced walls up to 2–3 m thick in August 2005. Excavation continued to 2008.
What it is
The foundations of a very large building made of big unworked stones, with walls several meters thick, sitting at the top of the eastern slope of the City of David. Pottery under the floors dates to the twelfth–eleventh centuries; the building's own date is fixed only by what lies above and around it. A proto-Aeolic capital found nearby by Kenyon may have belonged to it.
Why it matters for the Bible
If Mazar is right, this is the palace that Hiram of Tyre's workers built for David and the seat of the united kingdom, and its scale would show Jerusalem was a real capital in the tenth century. Israel Finkelstein, Ze'ev Herzog and David Ussishkin replied in 2007 that the walls come from several periods and cannot be shown to be one tenth-century building. The find proves a monumental structure stood here in the early Iron Age; whether it is David's house is a matter of faith in the interpretation. Bullae of Jehucal and Gedaliah, officials named in Jeremiah, were found in later layers on top of it.
The Hebrew word: meh-tzoo-DAH
מְצוּדָה
מְצוּדָה is pronounced meh-tzoo-DAH and means stronghold — the fortress David went down from (2 Samuel 5:17) (Strong's H4686).
People this discovery connects to
- David — דָּוִד (Dah-VEED) — beloved
- Hiram of Tyre — חִירָם (Chee-RAHM) — noble / exalted brother
Places
- City of David — עִיר דָּוִד (EER Dah-VEED) — city of David (Zion)
Events
David captures Jerusalem · Hiram builds David a house of cedar
Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') in Scripture
1 Samuel 16:13 First mention of David in Scripture.
2 Samuel 5:11 Hiram sends cedar and craftsmen to build David a house; Mazar identifies this building as that house.
2 Samuel 5:17 David 'went down to the stronghold', the verse Mazar used to predict where the palace stood.
Questions people ask
What is Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace')?
The foundations of a very large building made of big unworked stones, with walls several meters thick, sitting at the top of the eastern slope of the City of David. Pottery under the floors dates to the twelfth–eleventh centuries; the building's own date is fixed only by what lies above and around it. A proto-Aeolic capital found nearby by Kenyon may have belonged to it.
When was Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') discovered?
It was found in 2005 by Eilat Mazar (Hebrew University / Shalem Center), at City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), Area G north.
Where is Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') today?
In situ, City of David archaeological park, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') relate to?
1 Samuel 16:13, 2 Samuel 5:11, 2 Samuel 5:17.
Is Large Stone Structure ('David's Palace') authentic?
The structure is real and monumental; its date and identification as David's palace are strongly contested by many archaeologists.
Related discoveries
- מִלּוֹאStepped Stone StructureA giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo
- מִלּוֹאThe Millo: Where Was It?The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo
- צִנּוֹרWarren's ShaftThe vertical shaft above the Gihon once thought to be David's way into Jerusalem
- בֵּית לֶחֶםBethlehem BullaThe earliest mention of Bethlehem outside the Bible, on a tax-shipment seal
- חוֹמָהNehemiah's Wall in the City of DavidA Persian-period wall and tower on the eastern slope, proposed as the wall Nehemiah rebuilt in 52 days
- חוֹתָםGedaliah son of Pashhur BullaSeal of a second official from Jeremiah 38, found beside the Jehucal bulla
Sources
- E. Mazar, 'Did I Find King David's Palace?', BAR 32:1 (2006)
- Finkelstein, Herzog, Singer-Avitz & Ussishkin, 'Has King David's Palace in Jerusalem Been Found?', Tel Aviv 34 (2007)
- Wikipedia: Large Stone Structure
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