Archaeologists in Israel’s Golan Heights have made an exciting discovery, uncovering an ancient city gate from the time of King David.
As reported by Fox News, the discovery was made during an excavation at the ancient city of Bethsaida. “There are not too many monumental discoveries dating from the reign of King David,” wrote Rami Arav, Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska and Bethsaida Excavation Director, in an email to Fox News. “This is absolutely a significant contribution to biblical archaeology and biblical studies.”
Bethsaida was the capital city of the Biblical kingdom of Geshur, founded in the 11th century B.C. as a pre-planned city, said Arav. “The city included a place, granary, city walls, city gate, a high place in the city gate, and a cobblestones courtyard in front of the gate,” he explains. Bethsaida was destroyed in the year 920 B.C.
“Since this is the period of time of King David and since the Bible narrates that King David married Maachah the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur, it is reasonable that King David walked on these very cobblestones when he visited the city,” Arav marveled. Bethsaida, unlike most capital cities which have been built and rebuilt so many times, is an archaeological treasure for getting the real story about what happened during the times of the Hebrew Bible and the Second Temple period. “Bethsaida is a unique example of a capital city from the 11th-8th century BCE that is available for archaeological research, as there has been no disturbance to this site,” said Arav.
An ancient monumental stone slab, was also discovered near the gate’s tower, with depictions of the moon god which was worshipped at the time by the ancient Aramean people.
Archeologists who made the discoveries are now in their 32nd year of excavations at the ancient city. The project was at first sponsored by Israel’s Haifa University. The University of Nebraska at Omaha took over those efforts. Currently, it is being sponsored by the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.
Another gate was discovered last year at the site, and was said to be dated from the First Temple period.
Last April, archaeologists also made an important discovery in proving the actual existence of renowned Biblical King David. A large building was found at Tel ‘Eton in the valley underneath the Hills of Hebron. The breakthrough can leave no doubt that the biblical character and his kingdom were factual. The discoveries seem to have been made just in time, to prove the historical events of the bible and discredit the naysayers. “Until 25 years ago no one doubted that King David was a historical figure,” said Professor Avraham Faust, director of that archaeological dig. “In the last 25 years or so, however, David’s historicity, and especially the size of his kingdom, are hotly debated“.
In a different project, excavations in Southern Israel by Israel Defense Forces troops working under the direction of the Israel Antiquities Authority, discovered a biblical watchtower which dates back to the 8th century B.C.
