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New Archaeological Find Could Revolutionize Jerusalem History
From
PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>
Date
05 Aug 1998 21:26:04
Reply-To: wfn-news list <wfn-news@wfn.org>
5-August-1998
98245
New Archaeological Find Could Revolutionize
Jerusalem History
by Elaine Ruth Fletcher
Religion News Service
JERUSALEM-New archaeological discoveries in the City of David area reveal
that Jerusalem, a city revered as holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims, was
first a major Canaanite fortress with a highly sophisticated water system
at least 800 years before the biblical King David made it the capital of
ancient Israel.
Archaeologists say the discovery is likely to revolutionize thinking
about the history of Jerusalem, which traditionally was regarded as a minor
hilltop outpost bereft of significant fortifications before David conquered
the city around 1000 B.C.
It also may disappoint Jewish settlers who are reportedly planning to
build a visitor's center to illustrate the early Jewish history of
Jerusalem above the Canaanite archaeological sites now under excavation.
Over the past six years, the settlers have moved into homes in the adjacent
Arab neighborhood of Silwan, claiming the City of David area is of rich
Jewish significance.
"In effect, they'll have to show tourists the massive Canaanite water
works from Jerusalem of that period - at least that's what came out of the
excavations," Gideon Avny, chief Jerusalem district archaeologist of the
Israel Antiquities, said in an interview July 22.
The City of David lies south of the present-day Old City walls and
Temple Mount. It is believed by archaeologists and religious historians
alike to have been the place where David built the first Israelite capital
some 3,000 years ago. In contrast, the excavated areas of the Old City and
Temple Mount, which are popular tourist sites, date back 2,600 years, at
most, and are predominantly ruins from the era of Greek and Roman rule in
Palestine, before and after the birth of Jesus.
Archaeologists looking for clues to the earliest Israelite presence in
the city have spent the last several years intensively exploring the City
of David area but have found little to complete the historical record.
They say no significant artifacts have been found from David's period, nor
from the time of King Solomon, David's son, who, according to the Bible,
launched a massive building campaign in the city and constructed the First
Temple, which was destroyed in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians.
Instead the excavations exposed the foundations of an extensive water
supply system connecting ancient Canaanite Jerusalem to its sole water
source, the Gihon spring. The water system, prior to its full excavation,
had previously been considered of early Israelite origins.
"We thought that part of these water works were from the period of
David and Solomon, but to my dismay, we have to date them 800 years before
that," said Antiquities Authority archaeologist Ronnie Reich after leading
journalists through the dank, damp system of tunnels.
"It's not only that the system was built earlier than King David -
nobody imagined the extent of the city's defenses and the sophistication of
the water system in the Canaanite period," said Avny.
Archaeologists had previously believed that during the Canaanite period
the spring lay in an unfortified position outside the Canaanite city walls,
vulnerable to enemy attack. But new excavations show the spring was
actually massively fortified as early as 1800 B.C. And the system of
aqueducts and channels leading from the spring south along the length of
the ancient city fortifications was highly sophisticated. Meanwhile, the
Canaanite city of Jerusalem was found to be twice the size of what had
previously been believed - spanning an area of about 30 acres.
"The water system is probably one of the most ancient and sophisticated
in the Near East," said Avny.
British engineer Charles Warren discovered the first elements of the
system 130 years ago; they are known to archaeologists as Warren's Shaft.
The recent excavations uncovered much more of the shaft system and tunnel
system, leading eventually to a protected pool where water could be easily
drawn for use by city residents. The pool was protected by a tower built
of huge stones, each
weighing two to three tons.
Hebrew University archaeologist Amy Mazar, who is currently searching
for remains from the Kind David period in northern Israel, described the
Jerusalem finds as "very revolutionary - there is rather clear evidence
that in the middle Canaanite period there were large fortifications around
the Gihon spring," Mazar said.
While the failure to turn up clear evidence of David and Solomon's era
may be a disappointment for many biblical archaeologists, Mazar said the
latest discoveries may still shed light on biblical accounts of Jerusalem -
including an obscure Old Testament passage that states King David's forces
first infiltrated the Canaanite city via a mysterious "pipeline."
"There are many who believed that the `pipeline' was this water shaft,
and now these findings could bolster that interpretation," said Mazar.
In addition to the Tourism Center planned as a private initiative by
Jewish settlers in the area, the Antiquities Authority and the Ministry of
Tourism are developing the system of underground water tunnels and shafts
for walking tours.
The system, to be opened to the public before 2000, will link to a
larger network of archaeological walks and trails known as the Valley of
Kings, which is being developed along the rocky precipices and valleys just
outside of the Old City Walls.
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