A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has uncovered the ruins of an important administrative storage center from the 8th-7th centuries BCE.
‘To the King’ two-winged seal impression. Image credit: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority.
The team, headed by IAA archaeologists Neria Sapir and Nathan Ben-Ari, unearthed an unusually large structure built of concentric ashlars walls in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem.
“This is one of the most significant discoveries from the period of the Kings in Jerusalem made in recent years,” the archaeologists said.
“The site once dominated large agricultural plots and orchards of olive trees and grape vines which included agricultural industrial facilities such as winepresses for winemaking.”
“The site is dated to a period documented in the Bible by upheavals such as that of the Assyrian conquest campaign under the command of King Sennacherib in the days of King Hezekiah.”
“There are signs that governmental activity managed and distributed food supplies not only for shortage but administered agricultural surplus amassing commodities and wealth.”
The archaeologists found a collection of 120 broken clay jar handles with seal impressions.
Many of these impressions contain the ancient Hebrew letters ‘LMLK’ (belonging to the King) and the name of an ancient city, while others feature the names of senior officials or wealthy individuals from the First Temple period.
“These impressions are characterized by a Sun disk, flanked with two wings,” the researchers said.
“Above the Sun disk appears the word ‘to the King’ and below one of four cities in the Kingdom of Judah: Hebron, Ziph, Socho or Mmst.”
“Some of the storage jar handles area inscribed with the names of senior officials and wealthy individuals from the Kingdom of Judah: Naham Abdi, Naham Hatzlihu, Meshalem Elnatan, Zafan Abmetz, Shaneah Azaria, Shalem Acha and Shivna Shachar.”
“These names appear on storage jar handles at various sites across the Kingdom of Judah and attest to the elite position of those whose names are impressed on the jars.”
“These are senior officials who were in charge of specific economic areas, or perhaps wealthy individuals at that time — those who owned large agricultural lands, propelled the economy of their district, and owned private seals.”
The researchers also found a large collection of clay statuettes at the Arnona site.
“Some of the figurines are designed in the form of women, horse riders or as animals,” they said.
“These figurines are usually interpreted as objects used in pagan worship and idolatry — a phenomenon, which according to the Bible, was prevalent in the Kingdom of Judah.”
“It seems that shortly after the site was abandoned, with the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE and Babylonian exile, the site was resettled, and administrative activity resumed,” the scientists said.
“During this time governmental activity at the site was connected to the Judean province upon the Return to Zion in 538 BCE under the auspices of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which then ruled over the entire ancient Near East and Central Asia.”
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This article is based on text provided by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
