Beginning in the late 8th century BCE, the city of Jerusalem underwent more than a century of growth and expansion, during which the local economy became more centered on the capital. Lidar Sapir-Hen, Yuval Gadot, and Israel Finkelstein explain their recent findings on the economic role of livestock in this period, based on the study of artifacts and ancient animal remains from the area around the Western Wall and Tel Moza, a site located just outside Jerusalem:
[O]ur study reveals a class system within Jerusalem. . . . People living in locations close to the Temple Mount show a higher economic standing . . . compared to those in a neighborhood on the southeastern slope of the City of David ridge. . . .
While those residing next to the Temple enjoyed prime cuts of meat and were not engaged in actual herding or agriculture, lower-status groups showed some level of agriculture and [production] of secondary products [such as wool]. The City of David ridge is the only area within the city suitable for conducting small-scale agriculture. That the Temple and palace elite of Jerusalem had specialized herders of sheep and goats [whom they hired to tend flocks outside the city] is well attested in other studies, showing herding of “royal” herds in the Judean Desert.
Read more on ASOR: http://asorblog.org/2016/09/08/12361/