Trendy Archaeology

In Israel, I was trendy. I saw some of the latest archaeological digs.

We passed a main street in Jerusalem from Byzantine times, drove by a sanctuary recently unearthed in Magdala, stepped into the believed house of Peter (the apostle of Jesus), peeked into the palace of Queen Helena (from first century AD), and walked through King David's Palace.

In 2005 through 2008, a woman named Eilat Mazar (who happens to be the granddaughter of the archaeologist who unearthed the Temple Mount) excavated the area just south of the Temple Mount. Her team found remains of a foundation wall underneath centuries of buildings. 

The foundation of King David's Palace, she said.

Thence broke out a cage-fight. Some, including archaeologist Cahill, say this is the Jebusite fortress, not King David's palace. They donned brass knuckles and had it out.

Exciting stuff, no?

After wandering through the remains (via guide, Asher, who didn't respond quite so positively to my "As in My Name Is Asher Lev" comment as I would've hoped), I had to have a copy of The Palace of King David: Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005-2007. Who wouldn't?

Side note: This was the second time I almost lost the group. As I pursued my copy of the book, they pursued the bus. Thank goodness for an easy-to-spot group of journalists.

Two interesting things I learned from the digs and further reading in the report (rather, I will limit myself to two things):

First, as we climbed down into a water tunnel, Asher climbed onto a ledge and told us that here archaeologists found artifacts from Hezekiah's time and a much earlier time. In suspense, we walked further down the tunnel as he revealed the mystery: this tunnel had originally been built and used by Melchizedek. Offhandedly, he gestured toward a roped-off area. "Oh, that was discovered a few months ago." And he moved on.

Right.

So here's the thing. The tunnels lead to the Gihon Spring, the major water source for the city. The magnitude of the tunnel system helps us understand the size and significance of Jerusalem as far back as Melchizedek. Jerusalem, which became the religious and political center of Israel, had been an important religious and political center of Canaanites for centuries. When David conquered them, it was no minor feat. And it proved by leaps and bounds God's sovereignty and his choice of Israel as his instrument to reign religiously and politically. (That last part is my interpretation, be ye warned.)

Also, at the Gihon Springs, archaeologists discovered a tower. This helps us understand 1 Kings 1 when David tells Nathan the prophet to take Solomon to Gihon and crown him the king at a time of political upheaval. Why accomplish such a momentous event at a spring? Because that spring and that tower, we can now say, was a hub with political signficance. 

Second, putting together history and the new archaeological digs, we can understand the person of Uriah (from 2 Samuel 11, the man from whom David steals Bathsheba). It appears that Uriah was a successor to Jebusite rulers. "The story of David's defeat of the destitute Uriah (2 Samuel 12) marks the very end of the Jebusite royal dynasty in  the city" (Mazar, Preliminary Report, 2009). This presents a nuance to the story we know so well about David, Bethsheba, and Uriah. More than a story of lust, it has political ramifications. When David killed Uriah and took his wife, it symbolized his ultimate defeat of the Canaanites of Jerusalem.

One last word about Israel: love the food, love the scarves. I may have loved the food more than the sites, but don't tell anyone I said that.