Archaeology Dig Raises Controversy About Jerusalem

By: Aubrey Moulton

Eliat Mazar, Israeli Archaeologist, is asserting that renovations recently completed date as far back as 3,000 years. This offers merit to the view that the Holy Bible is not only a nice story but an actual record of history. She states that the fortifications around Jerusalem go as far back as King Solomon and show that Jerusalem was a powerful city with a sturdy centralized government. Mazar feels that the evidence exhibits that Jerusalem had resources and manpower needed to assemble the massive fortifications.
However this item is in doubt among many experts. Mazar believes that Hebrew Kings like David and Solomon ruled from Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C. There are other archaeologists who sustain the idea that King David's monarchy was merely a yarn and that there wasn't a centralized government during that era. Mazar held a press conference via the University of Jerusalem and confirmed that her find is the "most momentous construction we have from First Temple days in Israel."
She feels that Solomon, the son of King David, built the strongholds surrounding the city. These are the structures recently brought to light. She is certain that this is the precise structure talked about in the Book of Kings in the Bible. She also feels that this wall shows the power of a central rule because of the correlations a structure of that size would require.
The fortifications included a gatehouse and an extended portion of wall that's approximately 70 meters long and is located immediately outside the present-day walls of Jerusalem's Old City. It is interesting to note that these ramparts are also near the Noble Sanctuary.
The Old Testament says that Solomon constructed the earliest Jewish Temple on the place, but the temple was later destroyed by the Babylonians; then rebuilt and renovated by King Herod about two millennia ago. But after that the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D., so no one is certain it is still intact. At present, the compound contains a pair of significant Islamic buildings - the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque.
It is not that Mazar was the only archaeologist to excavate the wall. It was unearthed beginning in the 1860s and again in the 1980s. However, she claims that her dig was the only comprehensive excavation and that it was the one to demonstrate compelling evidence for the wall's age. Remnants of crockery were charted along the wall and helped Mazar determine the estimated construction date.
But Mazars assertions, as noted earlier, have met with a bit of censure. Aren Maeir, an archaeology professor from Bar Ilan University, requires that he be able to look at the proof that the walls are as old as Mazar declares. He explains that there are remains from the 10th century in Jerusalem but declarations that this ancient city was the hub of a formidable centralized kingdom are a bit of a stretch. Even though some archaeologists consider that the story of King David and Solomon is but a tale, there are others who believe it is precisely fact. And so the debate rages on.

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