King David's City at Khirbet Qeiyafa: Results of the Second Radiocarbon Dating Project

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Seventeen samples of burnt olive pits discovered inside a jar in the destruction layer of the Iron Age city of Khirbet Qeiyafa were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. Of these, four were halved and sent to two different laboratories to minimize laboratory bias. The dating of these samples is ~1000 BC. Khirbet Qeiyafa is currently the earliest known example of a fortified city in the Kingdom of Judah and contributes direct evidence to the heated debate on the biblical narrative relating to King David. Was he the real historical ruler of an urbanized state-level society in the early 10th century BC or was this level of social development reached only at the end of the 8th century BC? We can conclude that there were indeed fortified centers in the Davidic kingdom from the studies presented. In addition, the dating of Khirbet Qeiyafa has far-reaching implications for the entire Levant. The discovery of Cypriot pottery at the site connects the 14 C datings to Cyprus and the renewal of maritime trade between the island and the mainland in the Iron Age. A stone temple model from Khirbet Qeiyafa, decorated with triglyphs and a recessed doorframe, points to an early date for the development of this typical royal architecture of the Iron Age Levant.

The “Governor’s Residency” at Tel ‘Eton, The United Monarchy, and the Impact of the Old-House Effect on Large-Scale Archaeological Reconstructions

“…Then, in the late 11th-early 10th century (the transition from the Iron Age I to the Iron Age IIA) the fortified settlement of Kh. Qeiyafa, whose nature is hotly debated, was erected (Garfinkel et al 2012(Garfinkel et al , 2015Garfinkel, Kreimerman and Zilberg 2016;Piasetzky 2016;see also Faust 2014d). Later, in the course of the Iron Age IIA, the older Canaanite centers experienced significant changes.…”

“…A number of radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates from a foundation deposit and from the floors' make-up, however, show that the building was built already in the 10th century BCE. The dating of the residency to the 10th century has two important contributions, one to the debate over the historicity of the contested United Monarchy of Kings David and Solomon (e.g., Finkelstein 1996;Finkelstein and Silberman 2001;Bruins et al 2003;Finkelstein and Piazetsky 2011;Garfinkel et al 2012Garfinkel et al , 2015Mazar 2011, and see more below), and a second, much broader, by revealing the devastating impact of what we term here as the old-house effect on large-scale archaeological reconstructions.…”

Lachish Fortifications and State Formation in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah in Light of Radiometric Datings

“…The results of our excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) and its radiometric datings have already been published in great detail (Garfinkel and Ganor 2009;2014Keimer et al 2015;Garfinkel 2017). The dates from the short-lived Level IV Iron Age IIA city (Garfinkel and Kang 2011;Garfinkel et al , 2015 can be divided into two types of contexts.…”

“…Despite the great efforts invested in the construction of a chronology for the southern Levant, many of the early events in the history of the Kingdom of Judah are still dated by hypothetical historical considerations. A major question is when the kingdom spread from Jerusalem in the hill country to the lower Shephelah region in the southwest (Garfinkel et al , 2015Sergi 2013;Na'aman 2013;Lehmann and Niemann 2014). This fertile and densely occupied zone became the backbone of the kingdom (Figure 1).…”

The Temple of Solomon in Iron Age Context

“…The site of Khirbet Qeiyafa is located in the Judean lowland, some 20 km southwest of Jerusalem. During seven seasons of excavations, a fortified city of the early 10th century BCE has been uncovered (Garfinkel and Ganor 2009;Garfinkel et al 2014;Garfinkel et al 2015;. In a building near the southern city gate, a cultic room was excavated.…”