teradesa.com Archaeologists claim to have discovered the remains of the Prophet David’s palace in Khirbet Qeiyafa. Archaeologists involved in the excavation of the historic site came from Hebrew University and the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Khirbet Qeiyafa is an ancient city site located near the city of Beit Shemesh, Israel and is approximately 20 miles from Jerusalem. The discovery of these two ancient buildings is the largest ever, dating back to the 10th century during the heyday of the Kingdom of Judah.
This fortress city in Judah is believed to have existed since the time of the Prophet David and was known as the biblical city of Shaarayim. One of the buildings identified by researchers, including professors Yossi Garfinkel of the Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority revealed the palace of the Prophet David and other structures used as large royal storehouses.
“Khirbet Qeiyafa is the best example to date of a fortified city from the time of the Prophet David. The southern part of the large extended palace covers an area of 1,000 square meters,” said the researcher, as quoted by Sciencedaily.
Researchers further revealed, there is a wall perched near the palace along 30 meters. In addition, around the palace there are rooms where various installations were found, such as metal industry, special pottery tools and fragments of “alabaster” tools imported from Egypt.
The palace was located in the center of the site and controlled all the lower houses. From the palace, one could have excellent visibility to look at distant objects. This visibility was for example looking over the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the mountains of Hebron and the Jerusalem area in the east.
The location of the palace was also ideal for sending messages via fire signals. Unfortunately, many parts of the palace were destroyed around 1,400 years ago when a farmhouse was built in the area during the Byzantine period.
The discovery of the historic site at Khirbet Qeiyafa and its importance led the Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority and related parties, to cancel any construction or development around the site. They will also declare the area a national park site.
