New discoveries at the City of David archeological site in Jerusalem, including a row of 2,600-year-old rooms and objects found within them, suggest that the ancient city might have been larger than previously thought, writes Amanda Borschel-Dan.
According to the current team of [Israel Antiquities Authority] archaeologists, Jerusalem underwent constant growth throughout the Iron Age. This was expressed both in the construction of numerous city walls and the fact that the city later spread beyond them.
“Excavations carried out in the past in the area of the Jewish Quarter have shown how the growth of the population at the end of the 8th century BCE led to the annexation of the western area of Jerusalem. In the current excavation, we may suggest that following the westward expansion of the city, structures were built outside of the wall’s border on the east as well,” said the IAA.
The new row of buildings discovered recently by the IAA archaeologists was found beyond the wall delineating the eastern city border.
As they continue to process the findings, Uziel voiced questions the team is pursuing. “Are we outside the city? Are we excavating an external quarter? Are these domestic buildings?”
Or, in other words, just how large and widespread was the destruction of Jerusalem [by the Babylonians], which is commemorated next week [in the fast of Tisha b’Av]?
Read more on Times of Israel: http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-jerusalem-finds-shore-up-biblical-account-of-babylonian-conquest