Buried under millennia of earth and ruins, the legendary stronghold of the City of David has inspired many archaeological digs. This video focuses on one archaeologist’s discoveries.
For the late archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar (1956-2021), historical texts like the Bible were as important to her research as traditional and electronic tools for excavating and documenting dig sites. A summary of her life and achievements can be found here.
This video gives a short overview of her discovery of the Large Stone Structure (מבנה האבן הגדול Mivne haEven haGadol), which Dr. Mazar believed was a palace of the biblical King David (דָּוִד, Dāwīḏ).
As the video notes, the Large Stone Structure interconnects with the Stepped Stone Structure (possible Millo המלוא,) in a large, multi-generational royal complex from around 1000 BCE until 586 BCE. This aerial photo from Dr. Mazar’s article shows the excavation area, with location names and markers, while this photo shows the proximity of both structures.
According to Dr. Mazar’s chronology, the Large Stone Structure was begun sometime during King David’s reign (2 Samuel 5:11), possibly 1000 - 900 BCE. This was later fortified with the Stepped Stone Structure or Millo during the reign of King Solomon (שלמה, Shlomo) as described in 1 Kings 9:24; the video calls this Solomon’s Wall. During the reign of King Hezekiah (חִזְקִיָּהוּ) c. 716/15 - 687/86, repairs were made (2 Chronicles 32:4-5).
The title of the article presenting Dr. Mazar’s findings on the Large Stone Structure is a question rather than an answer Did I Find King David’s Palace? Starting with this short video clip, viewers can sift through the evidence to answer Dr. Mazar’s question.
