Large Stone Structure (Jerusalem)

The first of two notable written finds at the site is a bulla (seal) of a government official named Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi. This person seems to be mentioned (twice) in the Book of Jeremiah, and thus presumably lived in the late seventh or early sixth century BCE (i.e., at about the same time as Jeremiah).[2] The second bulla discovered at this site is that of another government official, Gedaliah, son of Pashhur, of that same time period, who also seems to be named in the Book of Jeremiah.[3]

As of 2005 the dig was ongoing, with progress limited by the current occupants of the land atop the ruins. According to The New York Times,

Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian, and one Jewish.[2]

By February 2007, the second phase of the dig, which took place on a plot adjacent to the first phase, had revealed that the building was larger than Dr. Mazar had previously thought, included walls that are up to 7 m (23 ft) thick, and showed that parts of the building relate to the famous "stepped stone structure" which was discovered and excavated in the 1920s–1980s.[4]

Artifacts found within the Large Stone Structure that support a possible tenth century BCE date include imported luxury goods, including two Phoenician-style ivory inlays, which were once attached to iron objects. Comparable objects found in a Phoenician tomb at Achziv suggest that they may have decorated a sword handle.[5] A quantity of luxury round, carinated bowls with red slip and hand burnishing support both the tenth century BCE date and a sophisticated and urban life-style.[6] A bone has been radiocarbon dated by Elisabetta Boaretto at the Weizmann Institute of Science, showing a probable date between 1050 and 780 BCE.[6] A large section of a "delicate and elegant" Black-on-Red jug, also found in the structure, is of a kind dated to the second half of the tenth century BCE.[7][8]

In 2007, Israel Finkelstein, Ze'ev Herzog, David Ussishkin and Lily Singer-Avitz coauthored a paper to lower the dating assigned to the structure given by Eilat Mazar. The coauthors also suggested that the walls unearthed by Mazar do not belong to a single building, arguing that the more substantial, more regular walls to the west of the site align with a larger rectangular structure, including upper parts of the Stepped Stone Structure, and a mikveh ritual bath believed to have been used in the Hasmonean dynasty period; while what they consider the flimsier irregular remains on the eastern side of the site should be treated as a separate entity. The coauthors additionally argued that Mazar's approach was biased.[9] However, the attempt to re-date the site and claim that the two structures were not part of the same structure received a detailed response by Amihai Mazar.[18] Agreeing with Mazar, Avraham Faust noted that Herzog's paper was written prior to the publication of all the excavation material and that its full publication was sufficient to settle the debate in favour of Eilat Mazar's interpretation of the dating of the site.[19] In 2005 Amihai Mazar suggested that the site may be a Jebusite fortress—the fortress of Zion that the Books of Samuel claim was conquered by David.[20] William G. Dever agrees with Mazar's (both Amihai and Eilat) interpretation and dates the structure to the 10th century BCE.[21]

Eilat Mazar dated the site by the different types of pottery found above and below the building's remains. The pottery below the foundation is dated by Eilat Mazar to the Iron Age I, and the pottery above is dated to the Iron Age II. Due to the law of superposition (the empirical rule stating that, in general, the older things are lower down), this implies, according to Eilat Mazar, that the foundation—and hence the building—was constructed somewhere between Iron Age I and Iron Age II (roughly between the eleventh and tenth centuries BC).[2] Israel Finkelstein argued that (Eilat) Mazar's pottery dating is flawed, concluding that "all one can safely say is that its various elements post-date the late Iron I/early Iron IIA and predate the Roman period. Circumstantial evidence seems to suggest the dating of most elements to the late Hellenistic period".[9]

Mazar made the following arguments for an Israelite royal palace from the early tenth century:

1. The enormous scale of the structure and physical distinctions between it and other contemporary structures.
2. That it was erected outside the walls of the Jebusite city.
3. Pottery and pavements found in the structure and dated to the tenth century.
4. That the latest pottery found beneath the structure is a "sizable and richly varied" assemblage dated to the twelfth to eleventh centuries BCE.
5. Both pottery types and radiocarbon dating point to a date around 1000 BCE.
6. Pottery found in the attached Stepped Stone Structure also dates its construction to the tenth century.
7. Two Phoenician-styled ivory inlays and a black-and-red jug imported from Cyprus attest to a Phoenician connection, a tenth-century date, and a luxurious life-style.
8. Bullae with names of royal officials mentioned in the Bible attest to royal use continuing until 586 BCE and "illustrate" the reliability of Biblical sources.[22]