3,800 year-old Canaanite Fortress Excavated in City of David

Israeli archeologists have uncovered a Canaanite fortress from the period of King David and King Solomon. The 15-year excavation came to an end Tuesday, marked by a ceremony for the sites inauguration.

The fortress from the pre-Herod period is close to 3,800 years old, and was reported to be the most complex archeology digs, taking 15 years to complete. The excavation, led by Haifa University’s Professor Ronny Reich and Israel Antiquities Authority Eli Shukron is the completion of three major excavations in Israel in 2014 alone.

The fortress is 2-3 meters, with walls 7 meters thick build from large stones.

Archeologists began exploring and excavating the City of David since 1867, the ancient site under constant excavation and discovery since that period.

The Canaanite fortress was built during the 18th century B.C., the fortress protecting the Biblical Gihon Spring, the largest spring and main water supply during the Canaanite period.

The site is that of the coronation of King Solomon, one of the archeologists of the excavation stating, “When we open the Bible and read about King Solomon who was crowned here, on the Gihon Spring – today you can come and see: this is where it happened. This is where it all started.”

Amir Tsarfati is the founder and president of Behold Israel, a news site to correct the scarcity in trustworthy reportage on issues and events impacting Israel, and to resolve the uncertainty about who or what to believe.

Photo credit: nightwing350c (Creative Commons)

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