Excavating in the City of David—one of the most ancient parts of Jerusalem—a group of archaeologists discovered the capital of a stone column decorated with symbols associated with royal buildings from the First Temple period. Tzvi Joffre describes what happened next:

While lifting the capital out of the ground, [the excavators] were stunned to find not only that the stone was decorated on both sides, but that there was yet another identical capital directly underneath it. A third identical stone was found nearby. The stones seem to have been hidden intentionally due to their seemingly careful placement. It may have been the only thing that saved them from being destroyed. . . . Why the stones were so carefully hidden may never be known, he added.

The capitals are linked to the Davidic dynasty because such designs from the period . . . have only been found within the areas [the dynasty] ruled. . . . Besides the capitals, additional artifacts found at the site indicate a royal or noble building as well, including a toilet—an [feature] only found in the homes of the wealthy in that period.

Using evidence from artifacts found at the site and the level at which they were found, archaeologists dated the capitals to the 7th century BCE, between the rule of King Hezekiah and the Babylonian conquest and destruction of Jerusalem.

“This . . . is really a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” the City of David Foundation vice-president Doron Spielman said.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.