Archaeologists excavating Jerusalem’s City of David have uncovered massive charred wooden beams believed to have collapsed during the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE, a discovery researchers say offers an extraordinary window into one of the most pivotal moments in Jewish history.
The beams were found during excavations at the Givati Parking Lot site, conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University in the City of David, within the Jerusalem Walls National Park.
According to excavation director Efrat Bocher, the beams likely formed the roof of an inner courtyard in a First Temple-period building that collapsed during the city’s destruction.
“The beams appear to have served as the roof of an inner courtyard in a building from the First Temple period,” Bocher said. “During the destruction, they collapsed onto the floor. We believe that the plaster cladding of the building’s walls, melted by the fire, covered the charred wooden beams and ultimately enabled their exceptional preservation.”
Rare find
Researchers said the discovery is unusual because wood rarely survives for millennia in Israel’s climate.
“It is very rare in Israel to find wood with such a large number of growth rings,” said Dr. Johanna Regev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who is studying the find. “Here, in the City of David, we found thick beams with many rings, offering significant research potential—with more growth rings enabling higher dating resolution.”
Until now, she said, archaeologists could generally date such finds only within a range of hundreds of years.
“Now we can attain much greater precision, narrowing the dating range down to as little as 10 years,” Regev said.
The excavation is directed on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority by Dr. Yiftah Shalev and Bocher, together with Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University.
‘Preserving memory’
The archaeologists believe Jerusalem’s returning Jewish residents intentionally left parts of the destruction layer intact when rebuilding the city, preserving the memory of the catastrophe.
“The concept of a landscape of memory is familiar from many cultures around the world,” Shalev said. “Preserving memory is a human need, seeking to preserve what once existed. Here we see it in its clearest form: a deliberate choice to leave ruins in place as a testament to the destruction and build the new layer over them.”
With Tisha B’Av, the annual fast commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, beginning on Wednesday evening, Bocher said the discovery carries particular emotional resonance.
“We are just before Tisha B’Av,” she said. “This discovery makes you feel that you are witnessing the very moment of destruction, the moment when it all happened. It’s deeply moving.”
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said the find reinforces the historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem’s soil continues to provide tangible evidence of the city’s ancient past,” Eliyahu said. “The wooden beams burned in the destruction of the First Temple stand as a powerful reminder of the Jewish people’s presence in Jerusalem some 2,600 years ago.
“On the eve of Tisha B’Av, this discovery underscores that our connection to Jerusalem is rooted not only in faith, but also in history, archaeology and collective memory. It is our responsibility to continue uncovering, preserving and passing this heritage on to future generations.”
The latest discovery, the archaeologists said, adds to a growing body of archaeological evidence uncovered in the City of David documenting life in ancient Jerusalem and the Babylonian destruction of the Kingdom of Judah nearly 2,600 years ago.
