Capital Importance: Ancient Judean Capitals Discovered!
While COVID-19 has certainly put a damper on the 2020 archaeological season in Israel, a number of exciting discoveries continue to occur. Just yesterday (Sept. 3, 2020) the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of three 2700 year old capitals, along with other artifacts. According to the Jerusalem Post, “The capitals are linked to the Davidic Dynasty because such designs from the period of the kingdoms of Israel and Judea have only been found within the areas they ruled. The design has been found from later periods in other locations throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East (Davidic Dynasty Symbol Found in Jerusalem).
The discoveries were made in an area known as the Armon Hanatziv Promenade. This is a favorite tourist spot south of Jerusalem that allows a beautiful panoramic view of the city. It is in the area known as East Talpiot in Jerusalem, and about a mile from another sensational discovery made recently (see my post Administrative Site of the Kings of Judah Uncovered).
Perfect Intact Capitals Found Buried
The Capitals, which are in perfect condition, were found buried, one on top of the other. It is not known why the capitals were buried. What is known is that they are from either a royal administrative building, or a royal estate. An in-depth interview conducted by Eric Stakelbeck of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) with Ze’ev Orenstein can be found here.
The capitals date from the period between the Assyrian oppression, which resulted in the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem in the time of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 37), to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.). Since the style of these capitals are linked to the Davidic dynasty, it has been memorialized on Israel’s 5 shekel coin (see image below).
A similar capital was discovered in Jerusalem during Kathleen Kenyon’s excavations in the City of David (1961-67). This discovery prompted Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar in 2005 to search and uncover what she believes is King David’s Palace. In a video showing a tour of the City of David the guide in the video sits in the building discovered by Mazar. Beginning at 3:30 in the video you can hear him talk about the palace and you can see a replica of the capital that was discovered. Watch the video here. Note the identical nature of this capital to the ones just discovered!
Among other items found were lavishly decorated window frames (seen in the picture above). These window frames, along with the capitals, can be seen in this short video interviewing the archaeologist who discovered them. Other items are currently being studied and investigated. A future announcement will detail what else has been discovered.