myBibleHistory

Ancient Mysteries & Interpretations

Was David's Palace Found?

Eilat Mazar excavated massive walls at the top of the City of David (2005–2008) and identified them as David's palace, built with Phoenician help. Other archaeologists dispute the date, argue the walls belong to different structures and periods, or date the building earlier than David. The structure is real; its identification is not settled.

Structure: documented · Date: disputed · Identification as David's palace: disputed

The City of David ridge in Jerusalem
Site or place photographThe City of David, the ridge south of the Temple Mount where Jebusite and Davidic Jerusalem stood (modern photograph).Image credit

1 What Scripture says

"And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house" (5:11).

2 What evidence we might expect

  • A large public building of the 10th century BC in the City of David.

3 What discoveries exist

Mazar found thick walls above the Stepped Stone Structure, with pottery she dated to the 10th century BC and a Phoenician-style ivory and proto-Aeolic capital nearby. Critics note the pottery's dating, the stratigraphy and whether the walls belong together.

The City of David ridge in Jerusalem
Site or place photographThe City of David, the ridge south of the Temple Mount where Jebusite and Davidic Jerusalem stood (modern photograph).Image credit

4 How interpretations compare

5 The strongest supported reconstruction

A massive building stood at the top of the City of David in the Iron Age. Whether it was built for David cannot be established on present evidence.

6 What remains possible or unknown

  • The building's construction date.
  • Whether the Stepped Stone Structure and the Large Stone Structure are one complex.

What the evidence shows

Where this connects