Archaeologists working in the Tel-Gezer excavation found the remains of a large and skillfully constructed building which may date back to the 10th century BCE, the era of King Solomon in the Bible. The excavation team has named the building “Solomon’s palace” in reference to the Bible verse 1 Kings 9:15, which states that the monarch undertook grand building projects in the ancient city.
Archaeologists found “Solomon’s palace” under a layer of rubble about a meter thick, signifying a time when the city was almost destroyed. They link this to the invasion of Egyptian pharaoh Shishak in 925 BCE.
Gezer, which can be found about 30 km northwest of Jerusalem, is estimated to be about 6,000 years old. It was first settled by the Canaanites. The Bible says that during the time of King David Gezer was associated with the Philistines, and archaeologists have found remains of Philistine pottery to support that claim.
Archaeologists found “Solomon’s palace” under a layer of rubble about a meter thick, signifying a time when the city was almost destroyed. They link this to the invasion of Egyptian pharaoh Shishak in 925 BCE. However, it looks like there might not have been a great loss of life, even though the city was demolished.
When the excavation team cleared away the rubble they expected to find a rich store of artifacts, but, in fact, the rooms were almost completely empty. They theorize that the inhabitants knew about the attack in time to hide their treasures.
Read more about it in the Haaretz article “King Solomon-era Palace Found in Biblical Gezer” by Philippe Bohstrom.
