An ancient structure uncovered on the eastern slope of the City of David inside Jerusalem Walls National Park is believed to have been used for ritual practices during the time of the First Temple, according to a new study.
The structure contained eight rooms containing things like an altar, a standing stone, an oil press and a wine press.
Excavation director Eli Shukron said in an article published in the scientific journal Antiqot that the uncovered structure may have been used by residents of Judah for cultic or religious practices.
The study suggests the structure, which is in overall exceptional shape, dates to the First Temple period and was revealed during excavations performed by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the City of David.
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“When we began excavating the City of David in 2010, we discovered that the site had been sealed with fill from the 8th century BCE (Before the Common Era), indicating it had fallen out of use during that time,” Shukron said. “The standing stone we uncovered remained upright in its original place, and the other rooms in the structure were also well-preserved.”
Shukron’s article proposed that the structure, comprised of eight rock-hewn rooms, was used for ritualistic purposes, not far from the Temple on the Temple Mount, nearly a few hundred meters away.
It is also the only known structure of its type from the period in Jerusalem and one of only a few found in Israel.
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The structure itself covers an area of about 220 square meters and has eight rooms, each used for different purposes.
One room contained an oil press for producing oil. Another contained a wine press for making wine.
Other rooms contained things like a carved installation with a drainage channel, which researchers identified as an altar; a large standing stone; and a floor with V-shaped carving marks, though researchers remain puzzled about the carvings’ purposes.
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Shukron hypothesized that the carvings may have been used as a base for a tripod used during ritual activities.
On the edge of the structure is a small cave that includes a cache of items dating to the 8th century BCE. The items in the cache included cooking pots, jars with fragments of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, loom weights, scarabs, stamped seals and grinding stones for crushing grains.
Shukron and his team believe the structure was used until the 8th century BCE, when the Kings of Judah ruled.
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“The structure ceased to function during the 8th century BCE, possibly as part of King Hezekiah’s religious reform,” Shukron said.
The Bible says Hezekiah wanted to centralize worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, and in doing so, he abolished the ritual sites located across the kingdom.
It also describes that during the First Temple period, other sites used for rituals were used outside the temple, and Kings Hezekiah and Josiah implemented reforms to eliminate the sites.
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“Nearly 3,000 years later, Jerusalem’s Biblical heritage continues to be unearthed in the City of David, and with the passage of time, its relevance and meaning only continues to increase, with significance to billions, not just millions, around the world,” Ze’ev Orenstein, the director of internal affairs at the City of David, told Fox News Digital. “Unlike most sites of antiquity, Jerusalem’s Biblical heritage remains both timeless and timely – not limited to museums & history books – but a necessary component in understanding the world today – past, present and future.”
The northern part of the structure was uncovered in 1909 by British explorer Montague Parker, who searched in Jerusalem for the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple treasures.
It was not until 2010 that Shukron began to excavate the property, which lasted over several excavation seasons.
“This discovery in the City of David once again affirms the Jewish people’s ongoing 3,000+ year-old bond with Jerusalem – not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact – from Bible times to the modern day,” Orenstein said.
