May 9th, 2012

JERUSALEM – Recent archaeological finds in Israel may provide a
solid link between Old Testament scripture and history. Israeli
archaeologist said on Tuesday that they have discovered a fortified city
in Judea from the time of King David, refuting, they say, claims that
the biblical Jewish kings were only mythological figures.
The walled city is right next to the Valley of Elah, where Bible says
David and Goliath battled and archaeologists believe it stood between
1020 to 980 BCE.

The city was the only one with fortifications that dates back to King
David and it provides an insight that the cult practised in the city was
different than that of the Canaanites or the Philistines.
“The cult shrines that we have found in this fortified city show that
it was a Jewish settlement, since we did not find bones of pigs among
the bones we unearthed,” said Prof. Yosef Garfinkel from the Institute
of Archaeology at the Hebrew University.

“The three cult rooms did not show any human or animal figurine,
suggesting that the population observed two biblical bans — on pork and
on graven images, therefore supporting the theory that Jewish population
lived there,” Garfinkel said.
According to researchers, the three cult shrines, made of stone, are
marked with carvings such as those described in the Bible when referring
to the Temple of Solomon, the First Jewish Temple.
“These finds are unique, the cult shrines are made from limestone,
they’re the first ones we found in Israel and they are connected to the
Temple of Solomon,” Saar Gan-Or, from the Israeli Antiquities Authority,
told Xinhua.

“We can identify them by reading the Bible, because some of the same
motives and patterns these shrines have carved on them are just like the
ones described in the scriptures. For example, the part talking about
the temple says that it had carved trygliphes, columns and triple
recessed doorways, like these shrines have.”

Garfinkel stressed that the unearthing of these three stone shrines
sheds light on the obscure passages in the Bible, clarifying them for
archaeologists.

“Now, for the first time in history we have actual objects from the
time of King David, which can be related to monuments described in the
Bible,” Garfinkel said. (Xinhua)

http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/israeli-archaeologists-announce-historic-links-to-king-david-and-solomons-temple/

More on the dig -http://qeiyafa.huji.ac.il/foundationstone.asp