A dearth of archaeological remains in Jerusalem, traceable to the time of David and Solomon, has raised questions about the importance of these Biblical kings. But a Mississippi State University archaeologist says those critics who base their arguments on the absence of evidence sometimes jump too quickly to their conclusions.
Speaking to the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society meeting at Edgewood College on Sunday afternoon, professor James Hardin said, "I would be very hesitant to say that because of things we haven’t found in Jerusalem that the kingdom of David and Solomon didn’t exist."
Some Bible scholars have made such arguments. The tenth century B.C., the time of David and Solomon in the Biblical chronology, is currently a very contentious period among archaeologists and Bible scholars. The main reason is that the types of archaeological remains attributed to this period at other archaeological sites in Israel are not as easily found in Jerusalem.
Even so, there are some archaeologists who do report digging up evidence of 10th century construction attributed to David and Solomon. In fact one of them, Eilat Mazar, announced just yesterday the identification of some towers and wall sections near the southern steps of the Temple Mount (the Ophel area) with the reign of King Solomon. Time will tell whether or not other archaeologists will accept her dating for these remains.
Pointing out that Jerusalem is not a typical tell, with multiple layers accumulated over centuries like other sites, Hardin said Sunday, "It may be that the archaeological evidence is there, it’s just not there in the same way as other sites, such as Megiddo or Hazor."
Hardin pointed to chalcolithic (stone age) remains found in another of Mazar’s excavation in Jerusalem, separated by inches from a tenth century level. In a typical tell there would be a larger separation between the remains of those two eras. "The bedrock is very high in this area of Jerusalem," he explained.
In addition to limited evidence from Jerusalem of the Iron Age II period (the tenth century B.C.), Hardin pointed out that there are also few remains that have been found from the late Bronze Age (fourteenth century B.C.) in Jerusalem. Yet letters written by the king of Jerusalem to the Pharaoh of Egypt in the fourteenth century have been found among the Amarna tablets, discovered in Egypt in the 1880’s.
"It’s a good idea to question assumptions," Hardin said, in reference to the scholars who raised questions about David and Solomon. "But scholars need an open mind, because a lot of times you’ll find what you’re looking for if you’re not careful."