(Photo: Griffin Aerial Imaging)
By Owen Jarus - May 3, 2018
Originally appeared here in Live Science
Archaeologists have discovered a sprawling, possibly 3,000-year-old house that suggests a biblical kingdom called the United Monarchy, ruled by King David and later Solomon according to the Hebrew Bible, actually existed.
The archaeologists who excavated the house, at a site now called Tel Eton, in Israel, said in an article published online March 13 in the journal Radiocarbon that the date, design and size of the house indicates that a strong organized government existed at Tel Eton around 3,000 years ago. They added that this government may be the United Monarchy. The site is located in the central part of Israel in a region called the Shephalah.
The Hebrew Bible states that the United Monarchy collapsed after the death of King Solomon (an event some historians believe occurred around 930 B.C.). After that collapse, two rival Jewish kingdoms popped into existence — Judah (based around Jerusalem), and a kingdom to the north of Jerusalem that retained the name Israel. Read More