Last week, Jews the world over commemorated the destruction of the First Temple, in 586 BCE, and the Second, in 70 CE. The same week, archaeologists published a study explaining how, using new scientific techniques, they determined that an ancient building was burned to the ground during the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem, which resulted in the first of those destructions. The Jerusalem Post reports:
The charred building’s remains, dubbed “Building 100” by the researchers, underwent a variety of analyses to understand how the fire had started and how it had progressed through the structure. While researchers can only make an educated guess that the building was burned during the siege of Jerusalem, the intense damage caused to the massive structure supports their hypothesis. Building 100 was once a large two-story home belonging to a member of Jerusalem’s elite; however, it was lost to time until it was discovered under a parking lot in the southeastern part of the ancient city.
The researchers searched the building for an ignition point, which would allow them to trace the spread of the fire through the building. They did this by measuring the magnetic signatures of pottery shards and broken floor panels. Through this line of study, the researchers uncovered that the fire had started on the top floor of the building, as the bottom floor had rooms that the fire had not reached.
“The widespread presence of charred remains suggests a deliberate destruction by fire, which was ignited at several locations in the top and bottom floors, with heat rising to burn the ceiling of the bottom floor,” the archaeologists explained. “The spread of the fire and the rapid collapse of the building indicate that the destroyers invested great efforts to demolish the building completely and take it out of use.”
The researchers suggest it was highly likely that this building was targeted in an arson as a punitive measure for disobedience, which was common in the 30-month siege of the city.
Read more on Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-753210