The Millo: Where Was It?
The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo
Found 1923 — Stepped Stone Structure: R.A.S. Macalister and J.G. Duncan (1923–25), Kathleen Kenyon (1960s), Yigal Shiloh (1978–85); Gihon fortifications: Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron (1995–2010); 2021 proposal by Chris McKinny, Nahshon Szanton, Aharon Tavger and Joe Uziel
Where City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Dates from c. 1800–900 BCE · Middle Bronze to Iron Age IIA · David and Shlomo (Solomon) through Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah)
Now at Both candidate structures are in situ in the City of David National Park
How The Millo: Where Was It? was found
The Millo is named in the Bible but never described. Kenyon and Shiloh identified it with the massive terraced 'Stepped Stone Structure' whose fill (Hebrew millu) supports the crest of the City of David. In 2021 a Journal of Biblical Literature article argued instead for the huge Spring Tower and pool fortifications around the Gihon, reading the word from the root 'to fill' as in filling with water.
What it is
Two real structures compete for one biblical name. The Stepped Stone Structure is a stone-faced retaining mantle about 18 metres high on the eastern slope. The Gihon fortifications are cyclopean towers of stones weighing several tons, built around the spring and its rock-cut pool, radiocarbon-dated to the Middle Bronze Age with a 9th-century BCE rebuild.
Why it matters for the Bible
The Millo appears at key moments: David builds from it inward, Shlomo raises it with forced labour, Chizkiyahu repairs it, and Joash is murdered at 'the house of Millo'. Knowing which pile of stones is meant helps readers see where those events happened. The debate itself is honest archaeology: the word is unclear, no inscription names it, and both candidates are big enough to be a royal project.
The Hebrew word: mil-LOH
מִלּוֹא
מִלּוֹא is pronounced mil-LOH and means the Millo, 'filling', an unnamed structure in the City of David (Strong's H4407).
People this discovery connects to
- David — דָּוִד (dah-VEED) — beloved
- Solomon — שְׁלֹמֹה (shlo-MOH) — his peace
- Joash — יוֹאָשׁ (yoh-AHSH) — YHVH has given
Places
- Millo — מִלּוֹא (mil-LOH) — filling; a filled terrace or structure
Events
David's building in the City of David · Solomon's forced labour for the Millo · Murder of Joash at Beit Millo
The Millo: Where Was It? in Scripture
2 Samuel 5:9 David 'built round about from the Millo and inward'; the first mention of the structure.
1 Kings 9:15 Shlomo's levy builds the house of YHVH, his own house, the Millo and the wall of Yerushalayim.
2 Kings 12:20 Joash is killed 'in the house of Millo, on the way down to Silla', which the 2021 proposal places near the Gihon.
Questions people ask
What is The Millo: Where Was It??
Two real structures compete for one biblical name. The Stepped Stone Structure is a stone-faced retaining mantle about 18 metres high on the eastern slope. The Gihon fortifications are cyclopean towers of stones weighing several tons, built around the spring and its rock-cut pool, radiocarbon-dated to the Middle Bronze Age with a 9th-century BCE rebuild.
When was The Millo: Where Was It? discovered?
It was found in 1923 by Stepped Stone Structure: R.A.S. Macalister and J.G. Duncan (1923–25), Kathleen Kenyon (1960s), Yigal Shiloh (1978–85); Gihon fortifications: Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron (1995–2010); 2021 proposal by Chris McKinny, Nahshon Szanton, Aharon Tavger and Joe Uziel, at City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is The Millo: Where Was It? today?
Both candidate structures are in situ in the City of David National Park.
Which Bible verses does The Millo: Where Was It? relate to?
2 Samuel 5:9, 1 Kings 9:15, 2 Kings 12:20.
Is The Millo: Where Was It? authentic?
Both structures are genuine and well excavated. Which one, if either, is the biblical Millo is an open question; most textbooks still say the Stepped Stone Structure, while McKinny, Szanton, Tavger and Uziel (JBL 2021) argue for the Gihon fortifications.
Related discoveries
- מִלּוֹאStepped Stone StructureA giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo
- מְצוּדָהLarge Stone Structure ('David's Palace')Massive walls in the City of David that one excavator called David's palace
- צִנּוֹרWarren's ShaftThe vertical shaft above the Gihon once thought to be David's way into Jerusalem
- גִּיחוֹןGihon Spring Tower and Pool TowerGiant fortifications guarding Jerusalem's only spring
- בֵּית לֶחֶםBethlehem BullaThe earliest mention of Bethlehem outside the Bible, on a tax-shipment seal
- בָּמָהCity of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary RoomsEight bedrock chambers near the Gihon with an altar, olive press and winepress, sealed in the 8th century BCE
Sources
- McKinny, Szanton, Tavger and Uziel, 'The Millo and the House of Millo', Journal of Biblical Literature 140 (2021)
- Associates for Biblical Research, 'New Study Proposes Alternate Location for the Millo'
- Biblical Archaeology Society, 'Locating Jerusalem's Millo'