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Archaeologists discover 'monumental' 3,000-year-old structure mentioned in the BibleArchaeologists have discovered an ancient moat in the City of David in Israel, built over 3,000 years ago and mentioned in the Bible.
By Rebecca Robinson
06:59 ET, Tue, Jul 23, 2024 | UPDATED: 10:38 ET, Mon, Aug 26, 2024
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The northern side of the moat protected Jerusalem. (Image: Eric Marmur, City of David)
Archaeologists have discovered a "monumental" structure in Israel dating back more than 3,000 and featured multiple times in the Bible.
A team from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University uncovered a moat at least nine meters deep and 30 meters wide at the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park.
Many attempts have been made to identify the moat in the past 150 years, but its secrets have now been revealed for the first time.
Researchers believed the moat used to separate and protect the upper city, with its temple and palace, from the lower city.
The scientists at the Israel Antiquities Authority said: "This is a dramatic discovery that opens up a renewed discussion about the terms from the biblical literature that refers to the topography of Jerusalem, such as the Ophel and the Millo."
The moat is estimated to have been constructed over 3,000 years ago. (Image: Eric Marmur, City of David)
The Ophel and the Milo are both terms describing parts of the City of David and can be found in the Book of Kings (11:27) in which King Solomon constructs the Milo and "closed up the breach in the wall of the City of David his father."
Dr Yiftah Shalev, the excavation's director, said: "It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah.
"During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north; the upper city where the palace and the temple were located.
"We are confident that [the moat] was used at the time of the First Temple and the Kingdom of Judah [in the ninth century BC], so it created a clear buffer between the residential city in the south and the upper city in the north." |
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