A new palace of David found in Israel

Archaeologists claim to have found a 3,000-year-old palace and royal storehouse in Jerusalem belonging to the biblical King David. The two buildings are the largest structures standing during the 10th century BC to have been found in the territory of the Kingdom of Judah. Two royal public buildings were uncovered by researchers of the Hebrew University and the Israel Antiquities Authority at Khirbet Qeiyafa — a fortified city in Judah dating to the time of King David and identified with the biblical city of Shaarayim. One of the buildings was identified by the researchers, Professor Yossi Garfinkel and Saar Ganor as David’s palace, and the other structure served as an enormous royal storeroom. “Khirbet Qeiyafa is the best example exposed to date of a fortified city from the time of King David,” Mr Garfinkel and Mr Ganor, said. They said the southern part of a large palace that extended across an area of 1,000 square metre was revealed at the top of the city. The wall enclosing the palace is 30 metres long and an impressive entrance is fixed in it through which one descended to the southern gate of the city, opposite the Valley of Elah. Around the palace’s perimeter were rooms in which various installations were found — evidence of a metal industry, special pottery vessels and fragments of alabaster vessels that were imported from Egypt, archaeologists said. The palace is located in the centre of the site and controls all of the houses lower than it in the city. From here one has an excellent vantage looking out into the distance.