Excavations in the City of David, Jerusalem (1995-2010)

The City of David, more specifically the southeastern hill of first- and second-millennium BCE Jerusalem, has long captivated the imagination of the world. Archaeologists and historians, biblical scholars and clergy, Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and tourists and armchair travelers from every corner of the globe, to say nothing of politicians of all stripes, look to this small stretch of land in awe, amazement, and anticipation.

In the City of David, in the ridge leading down from the Temple Mount, hardly a stone has remained unturned. Archaeologists have worked at a dizzying pace digging and analyzing. But while preliminary articles abound, there is a grievous lack of final publications of the excavations—a regrettable limitation on the ability to fully integrate vital and critical results into the archaeological reconstruction of ancient Jerusalem.

Excavations of the City of David are conducted under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The Authority has now partnered with the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem and its publication arm, the Ancient Jerusalem Publication Series, for the publication of reports that are written and designed for the scholar as well as for the general reader. Excavations in the City of David (APJ 1), is the first volume in this series.

“The authors deserve gratitude for their exemplary publication of discoveries significant for the history of Jerusalem, raising expectations for their promised second volume.”—Alan Millard, Society for Old Testament Study Booklist (JSOT)

“To put things simply, there is no way to decipher the history of Ancient Israel without the archaeology of Jerusalem, with no access to the Temple Mount, there is no way to understand the archaeology and history of Jerusalem without the City of David ridge, and there is no way to study the City of David without the results of the Reich/Shukron excavations. This volume is therefore a landmark in the archaeology of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.”—Israel Finkelstein, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University

“The excavations conducted by Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron in the City of David augured a new era of large-scale archaeological research. They began their work in 1995 as a modest tourism development project in connection with Jerusalem’s 3000th anniversary celebrations. Today, more than 25 years later, the project is still underway. It was only natural for the academic committee of The Ancient Jerusalem Publication Series to begin publication with the astounding results of their excavations and research studies.”—Yuval Baruch, Jerusalem Regional Archaeologist

Ronny Reich is Professor Emeritus of classical archaeology at the University of Haifa, former Codirector of the City of David Excavations (1995–2012), and Chair of the Israel Archaeological Council.

Eli Shukron is an archaeologist who worked with the Israel Antiquities Authority and excavated the City of David in Jerusalem.

Preface: The Ancient Jerusalem Publication Series

Yuval Baruch

Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1. A Moment in Which to Be Born

Ronny Reich

Chapter 2. Excavations in the City of David

Ronny Reich

Chapter 3. Excavation, Analysis and Publication Methodology

Ronny Reich, Efrat Bocher, Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Eli Shukron

Part II: Area A

Chapter 4. Area A, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

Chapter 5. Area A, Pottery from the Iron Age and Persian and Hellenistic Periods

Efrat Bocher

Chapter 6. Area A, The Early Roman Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Chapter 7. Area A, The Coins

Donald T. Ariel

Area A, Index of Loci and Walls

Part III: Area J

Chapter 8. Area J, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

Chapter 9. Area J, The Bronze Age Pottery

Helena Roth

Chapter 10. Area J, The Iron Age Pottery

Efrat Bocher

Chapter 11. Area J, The Early Roman Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Chapter 12. Area J, The Coins

Donald T. Ariel

Area J, Index of Loci and Walls

Part IV: Area F

Chapter 13. Area F, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

Chapter 14. Area F, The Middle Bronze Age Pottery

Helena Roth

Chapter 15. Area F, The Iron Age Pottery

Efrat Bocher

Chapter 16. Area F, The Roman Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Area F, Index of Loci and Walls

Part V: Area H

Chapter 17. Area H, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

Chapter 18. Area H, The Early and Middle Bronze Age Pottery

Helena Roth

Chapter 19. Area H, The Iron Age Pottery

Efrat Bocher

Chapter 20. Area H, The Roman Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Chapter 21. Area H, The Medieval Pottery

Benjamin J. Dolinka

Chapter 22. Area H, The Coins

Donald T. Ariel

Area H: Index of Loci and Walls

Part VI: Area D

Chapter 23. Area D, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

Chapter 24. Area D, The Late Roman and Byzantine Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Chapter 25. Area D, The Coins

Donald T. Ariel

Area D: Index of Loci and Walls

Part VII: Area L

Chapter 26. Area L, Stratigraphy and Architecture

Ronny Reich, Guy Bar-Oz and Eli Shukron

Chapter 27. Area L, The Roman Pottery

Tehillah Lieberman

Chapter 28. Area L, The Faunal Remains

Ram Bouchnick, Guy Bar-Oz and Ronny Reich

Part VIII: The Finds

Chapter 29. Two Late Middle Bronze Age Scarab Impressions

Baruch Brandl and Anat Cohen-Weinberger

Chapter 30. Figurines and Zoomorphic Vessels

Sara Levavi-Eilat

Chapter 31. Iron Age Stamped and Incised Jar Handles

Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Efrat Bocher

Chapter 32. Lion Stamp Impressions

Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Efrat Bocher

Chapter 33. Yehud Stamped Impressions

Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Efrat Bocher

Chapter 34. YRŠLM Stamp Impression

Efrat Bocher and Anat Mendel-Geberovich

Chapter 35. Stamped Amphora Handles

Donald T. Ariel

Chapter 36. Marked Handles and Potsherds

Anat Mendel-Geberovich

Chapter 37. A Stamped Handle with an Arabic Inscription

Nitzan Amitai-Preiss

Chapter 38. Roof Tiles

Ronny Reich

Chapter 39. A Greek Inscription

Ronny Reich

Chapter 40. Stone Scale Weights

Ronny Reich

Chapter 41. Late Second Temple Period Stone Vessels

Ronny Reich

Chapter 42. The Ground Stone Assemblage

Yoav Weingarten

Chapter 43. Sundial

Ronny Reich

Chapter 44. Metal Scale Weights and Weight-like Objects

Gérald Finkielsztejn

Chapter 45. Metal Finds

Baruch Yuzefovsky

Chapter 46. The Glass Finds

Tamar Winter

Chapter 47. Varia

Ronny Reich

Part IX: Synthesis and Summary

Chapter 48. Synthesis and Summary

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron