(Photo: Shalom Kweller, City of David)
By Amanda Borschel-Dan - September 5, 2022
Recently uncovered in Jerusalem’s City of David, a trove of ivory fragments — one of the most prestigious and luxurious materials of the ancient world — has scholars rethinking Jerusalem’s ranking among Near Eastern capitals.
These First Temple-period ivory artifacts are the first discovered in Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, and are rarely found in antiquity.
Some 1,500 ivory fragments were excavated from the City of David’s Givati Parking Lot, but only discovered during wet sifting in the nearby Emek Tsurim National Park.
The ivory pieces, which would have made up decorative inlays for furniture or a door, were discovered in a monumental building that was in use when Jerusalem was at the height of its power (the 8th and 7th centuries BCE) and was likely razed during the Babylonian Conquest of 586 BCE.
Read More: Times of Israel