![]() Numerous archaeologists have tried to locate the remains of King David’s palace. While we cannot touch on the subject without opening a can of worms, the fact remains that everything about Kuntillet’ Ajrud and its finds continues to be puzzling, challenging to interpret, and even more difficult to see. Though it has been found that many of the images were only added to the storage jars at a later date and possibly influenced by the war in the ancient Near East, many have wondered whether these images depict God with his female consort-as Ashera was a well-known pagan goddess. The now-reconstructed pithoi are painted with male and female deities, humans, animals, and symbols and feature several inscriptions, including three that refer to Yahweh and his Asherah or Asherah. Among the most notable finds were two eighth-century BC storage jars, known as pithoi, weighing roughly 30 pounds (13. The finds from Kuntillet’ Ajrud were fantastic. In 1975, archaeologist Ze’ev Meshel from Tel Aviv University and his team of nine volunteers, mainly from kibbutzim and a few of his co-workers, agreed to excavate at the site. It has no known biblical name and is isolated and almost inaccessible from other nearby settlements. 9 Yahweh and His AsherahĪ few miles west of the ancient Gaza Road (known as Darb Ghazza in Arabic) lies the intriguing archaeological site of Kuntillet’ Ajrud. The presence of the same letters, BYTDWD, on the Mesha Stele/Moabite Rock, also dated from the 9th century, solidifies the existence and, indeed, the lineage of King David. While some historians have tried to explain the inscription away, most agree that it refers to the lineage of David, the second king of the unified kingdom and possibly the most important ruler in Israel’s history. As such, there is no chance of intrusion by later finds. These ash layers are few and far between and remain every archaeologist’s dream, as anything sealed beneath them has to be dated earlier. The letters or inscription refers to the “The House of David” and could firmly be dated back to the 9th century BC due to an ash layer dated 733/722 BC caused by later Assyrian wars. ![]() ![]() The surface of the stone was polished on two sides, and the identified letters, BYTDWD, was clear and unmistakable. On July 21, 1993, the project surveyor for the Tel Dan archaeological site in Israel, Gila Cook, discovered ancient writing on one of the reused building stones in an old wall. ![]()
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