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The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

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<< Other Photo Pages >> City of David - Ancient Village or Settlement in Israel

Submitted by bat400 on Wednesday, 09 March 2016  Page Views: 6425

DigsSite Name: City of David Alternative Name: Ir David, Acra
Country: Israel Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Jerusalem
Latitude: 31.774000N  Longitude: 35.236000E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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City of David
City of David submitted by motist : Rare First Temple-era seal found in City of David Photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority More here (Vote or comment on this photo)
A narrow ridge running south from the Temple Mount. It was a walled city in the Bronze Age and, according to tradition, it is the place where King David built his palace and established his capital. It is the oldest neighbourhood of Jerusalem and a major archaeological site including the Gihon Spring, tunnels, and other water systems dating back to the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1550 BCE).

Earlier occupation dates to the Chalcolithic (4500–3500 BCE) but all succeeding periods are represented.

Currently portions of the City of David are open to the public as an archaeological parks. The excavations and control of the entire area are also hotly contested in regards control of the archaeology activities and the focus on Israeli or Palestinian interests. A highly controversial proposal is to make the entire ridge into a public park, forcing private owners to sell and residential areas to be eliminated.

Note: Rare first temple-era seal found in City of David, See the most recent comment on our page.
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City of David
City of David submitted by motist : Rare First Temple-era seal found in City of David Photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority More here (Vote or comment on this photo)

City of David
City of David submitted by motist : Archaeologists in Jerusalem may have just solved one of the city's greatest geographical mysteries. Excavators recently unearthed what they think are the ruins of the Acra, a fortress constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 B.C.). At one time mercenary soldiers and Hellenized Jews controlled the ancient fortress, enforcing a brutal rule over Je... (Vote or comment on this photo)

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Herodian sewer plate Herod's construction included modern Roman-style plumbing, with sewers run under the pavement. Image copyright: Anita363 (Anita Gould), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Image copyright: gregoryjenks (Gregory Jenks), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : City of David, the walls Site in Israel Image copyright: Todesfee, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : The City of David, the biblical Jerusalem, is the oldest settled neighborhood of Jerusalem and a major archaeological site. Image copyright: Shalva1948 (Shalva Mamistvalov), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Cool shot from: City of David, Jerusalem, Israel 2011 Image copyright: Ben Unleashed!, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Ancient Homes City of David, Jerusalem, Israel 2011 Image copyright: Ben Unleashed!, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Water flowing next to Herodian staircase Site in Israel The water flowing here is from the Gihon spring. It flowed through Hezekiah's Tunnel before reaching this point, and will evaporate before it reaches the Dead Sea. Image copyright: RahelSharon (Rahel Jaskow), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Site in Israel Signboard for Gihon Spring. This was underground in the tunnel. This spring has been flowing for around 3000 years. I think we were in Warren's shaft, I forgot really. Image copyright: frothymilk, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Jerusalem, City of David - archaeological site. Old City. Photo taken by Noam Chen for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. Credit attribution requested for the photographer and for the Ministry of Tourism Image copyright: Israel_photo_gallery, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Image copyright: gregoryjenks (Gregory Jenks), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Site in Israel Image copyright: gregoryjenks (Gregory Jenks), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : Jerusalem, City of David - the stairs in Warren shaft. Photo taken by Noam Chen for the Isrfor the photographer and for the Ministry of Tourismaeli Ministry of Tourism. Credit attribution requested for the photographer and for the Ministry of Tourism Image copyright: Israel_photo_gallery, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : City of David, tombs of the davidic dynasty Site in Israel Image copyright: Todesfee, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

City of David
City of David submitted by Flickr : The foundation stones of a large 10th Century BCE public building, According to archaeologist Eilat Mazar, who heads the excavation, this building was a large public building, and could only have been erected by a major kingdom. The dating of the structure sets it at the time of the rule of King Solomon or King David, and the structure therefore serves as direct evidence of the existence of their ...

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 185m S 190° Hezekiah's Tunnel* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 404m N 353° Temple Mount* Ancient Temple
 1.2km N 359° 2000 year old stone fragment in Jerusalem* Marker Stone
 3.2km SW 214° Talpiot Tomb Rock Cut Tomb
 3.9km N 7° Shuafat road Chalcolithic period site* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.5km WNW 286° Tel Motza* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.7km SSW 208° Rachel's Tomb Ancient Temple
 9.0km WNW 287° Motza Neolithic City* Ancient Village or Settlement
 12.1km S 177° Herodion* Ancient Palace
 20.7km ENE 66° Jericho* Ancient Village or Settlement
 21.4km E 100° Qumran* Ancient Village or Settlement
 23.0km W 262° Tel Beth-Shemesh* Artificial Mound
 24.2km WSW 247° 2,000-year-old ‘Emperor’s Road’ near Beit Shemesh* Ancient Trackway
 24.3km WNW 287° Emmaus Ancient Village or Settlement
 24.6km WSW 249° Ramat Beit Shemesh ritual baths* Ancient Village or Settlement
 25.0km ENE 61° The Gilgal associated peacefully with Joshua Stone Circle
 27.7km WSW 252° Khirbet Qeiyafa* Ancient Village or Settlement
 28.2km N 357° The Gilgal associated with Elijah and Elisha Stone Circle
 28.6km WSW 241° Khirbat Ethri* Ancient Village or Settlement
 29.6km WSW 239° Tel Burgin* Ancient Village or Settlement
 29.6km WSW 254° Tel Azeqa Ancient Village or Settlement
 30.1km SSW 203° Cave of the Patriarchs Rock Cut Tomb
 31.5km WNW 288° Tel Gezer* Ancient Village or Settlement
 31.9km N 9° Tel Shiloh Ancient Village or Settlement
 34.0km WSW 243° Tel Goded Ancient Village or Settlement
View more nearby sites and additional images

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"City of David" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Rare First Temple-era seal found in City of David by motist on Tuesday, 08 March 2016
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Archaeologists have found two seals with Hebrew names, dating back to the time of the First Temple, in Jerusalem's City of David. The objects belonged to a woman and a man, Elihana bat Gael and Sa'aryahu ben Shabenyahu.

Finding seals that bear names from the time of the First Temple is hardly a commonplace occurrence, and finding a seal that belonged to a woman is an even rarer phenomenon," said a researcher with the project.

The artifacts were discovered in a prominent building that is believed to have served as an administrative center.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, along with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation, have been digging at the former Givati parking lot for the past nine years.

Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, Yana Tchekhanovets and Salome Cohen, the archaeologists in charge of the site, explain that "Personal seals, such as those of Elihana and Sa‘aryahu, were used for signing documents, and were frequently inlaid as part of a ring that was worn by the owner. In antiquity they designated the identity, genealogy and status of the owner of the seal."

Dr. Hagai Misgav further noted the significance of Elihana bat Gael's seal: "Seals that belonged to women represent just a very small proportion of all the seals that have been discovered to date. This is because of the generally inferior economic status of women, apart from extraordinary instances such as this. Indeed, the name Elihana does not appear in the Bible, and there is no other information regarding the identity of the woman, but the fact that she possessed a seal demonstrates her high social status.

Dr. Misgav adds, "Most of the women’s seal that are known to us bear the name of the father rather than that of the husband. Here, as in other cases, this might indicate the relatively elevated status of Elihana, which depended on her original family, and not on her husband’s family. It seems that Elihana maintained her right to property and financial independence even after her marriage and therefore her father’s name was retained; however, we do not have sufficient information about the law in Judah during this period."

Source: Arutz 7 Israel and Art Daily
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Acra at Last? Site of ancient Jewish revolt unearthed by Andy B on Friday, 06 November 2015
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A fascinating, recent discovery appears to have solved one of Jerusalem’s biggest historical mysteries: the location of the Acra, the fortified compound in Jerusalem built by Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, following his sack of the city in 168 BCE. The renowned fortress was used to control the Jewish city and to monitor the activities in the temple. The Akra was eventually conquered by the Hasmoneans.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/ancient-mystery-solved-hellenistic-citadel-that-restricted-jewish-rule-in-hasmonean-jerusalem/2015/11/03/

Excavators recently unearthed what they think are the ruins of the Acra, a fortress constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 B.C.). At one time mercenary soldiers and Hellenized Jews controlled the ancient fortress, enforcing a brutal rule over Jerusalem's residents.

The Acra's existence is recorded in historical documents, but archaeologists and historians have debated its location
http://www.livescience.com/52671-greek-citadel-unearthed-jerusalem.html?cmpid=NL_LLM_weekly_2015-11-03

Is This Really the Akra?
Has the Akra been discovered? On Monday the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) circulated a press invitation to “A Solution to One of the Greatest Questions in the History of Jerusalem.” The location of the Hasmonean fortress of the Akra has long eluded archaeologists, but recent work in the Givati parking lot in the Central Valley below Dung Gate has uncovered a massive structure from this period.

The identification of this structure as the Akra fortress appears to be based on three items:

A “tower” that is 4 meters wide and 20 meters long
Artifacts which date to the mid-2nd century BC
Evidence of battle, including lead sling shots, bronze arrowheads, and ballista stones

Is this alone sufficient to identify this structure as the Akra? I think there’s an automatic suspicion because of the tendency of archaeologists to want to find something great, something that will get their name in the press, lead to invitations to speak, and bring in financial support.

http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2015/11/is-this-really-akra.html

With thanks to motist for the links
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Royal Israelite Capital Detail Emerges from Jerusalem Dig by Andy B on Tuesday, 19 March 2013
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When an architectural fragment like this one is found on an archaeological dig in Jerusalem, it could likely mean a very important building existed somewhere nearby -- such as a building fit for a king. An archaeological excavation team under the direction of Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar has recently uncovered a large fragment of what is known as a "proto-aeolic capital", or royal Israelite capital, the top-most portion of an architectural column that is designed to support or grace the facade or entrance-way of an important royal or administrative/public building.

It was found within a stony fill adjacent to a wall dated to the Iron Age II (1000 - 539 BCE) and is assumed by its location to have been in secondary use in this final resting place. (Succeeding builders often reused or "recycled" architectural elements in the construction of later structures).

Says Mazar about the capital fragment: "The first time we see it [proto-aeolic capitals] used as capitals is only at Israelite sites of the First Temple period. We know this from sites in the north of Israel like Megiddo and other royal cities like Hazor, Dan, Samaria -- and also in the south - Jerusalem and Ramat Rachel, which features a royal palace south of Jerusalem........It fits very well into the general picture of a royal structure."

A proto-aeolic capital displayed at the site of Ramat Rachel near Jerusalem, where examples of this royal Israelite capital have been excavated.

Mazar and her team, which also consists of students and volunteers from the Herbert W. Armstrong College in the U.S., have been excavating in the Ophel, an area just below and south of the current Temple Mount where the ancient Jewish temple once stood and where today stands the al-Haram ash-Sharif (Dome of the Rock) and the al-Aqsa mosque. The new find is consistent with the spectacular finds already uncovered in previous excavation seasons, where she and her colleagues have uncovered not only finds dated to the Second Temple, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, but also what Mazar and others suggest may be the remains of structures attributed to builders during the period of King Solomon in the 10th century BCE.

These remains include a section of a massive wall of large, well-dressed stones 70 meters long and 6 meters high. Also uncovered with the wall was a structure interpreted as an inner gatehouse, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a section of a corner tower 8 meters long and 6 meters high, built of carved stones.

In addition to the proto-aeolic capital, excavators have recently uncovered a fire pit that contained ash, pottery sherds, fragments of burnt wood and what may be grapes dated to almost three thousand years ago. Massive external and internal walls of a likely public or royal structure are now emerging, and archaeologists are anticipating the possibility that, as excavations continue, they will be able to "piece together" the newly emerging features and connect them to previously excavated features from other seasons to determine the nature and extent of the structure(s) at the location.

See the video (link below) about the capital fragment and more information about the ongoing excavations in Jerusalem's Ophel at the website, The Key to David's City.

http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/december-2012/article/royal-israelite-capital-detail-emerges-from-jerusalem-dig

With thanks to Coldrum for the link.
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Jerusalem stone carvings baffle archaeologists by bat400 on Sunday, 18 March 2012
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Archaeologists have discovered mysterious stone carvings at an excavation site in Jerusalem. The carvings - which were engraved thousands of years ago - have baffled experts.

Israeli archaeologists excavating in the oldest part of the city discovered a complex of rooms with three "V" shapes carved into the floor. Yet there were no other clues as to their purpose and nothing to identity the people who made them.

Some experts believe the markings were made at least 2,800 years ago and may have helped hold up some kind of wooden structure. Others say an ancient people may have held ritual functions there.

The purpose of the complex is another aspect of the mystery.

There are straight lines on the walls and floors - something archaeologists see as evidence of careful engineering. The markings are also located close to the city's only natural water source - the Gihon spring - suggesting they may have had an important role.

Eli Shukron, a co-director of the project that found the markings, said they were a "little bit" mysterious. "It's something that is here on the floor in this room from the First Temple period and we don't know yet what it means," he added. The First Temple period refers to a period in the ancient city beginning in the 10th century before the Christian era.

With experts unable to come up with a theory about the markings, the archaeologists posted a photo on Facebook and asked for suggestions.

Opinions ranged from the thought-provoking - "moulds into which molten metal could have been poured" - to the generic - "ancient Hebrew or Egyptian characters".

The archaeological dig is known as The City of David, a politically-sensitive project funded by the Israeli government and Jewish nationalists.

Palestinians and some Israeli archaeologists have criticised the dig for what they say is an excessive focus on Jewish remains. The participants deny that charge.



Thanks to coldrum for the link. Read more at http://www.3news.co.nz.
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