Flippant Evidence In Jerusalem's Rock-Cut-Rooms

Recently a paper published in conjunction with Weizmann Institute and Israel Antiquities Authority uncharacteristically stated: “Thus, several seeds from an ash layer found below a thin wall in Area U (Room 19040), indicate a 9th century BC date for the construction of this room and adjacent structures, as well as the hewing of a series of rock-cut rooms to which the architectural remains were connected based on stratigraphic observations (SI Appendix, Figs. S18 and S20). Also dating to this century in Area U was a collapsed refuse of building materials, uncovered in Room 17063, built directly on top of the bedrock (RTD 9180, Fig. 2 and SI Appendix, Figs. S4, S9, and S12).”

After Joe Uziel discovered the Iron Age fragments on the north eastern wall of the Spring Tower, he has carefully and consistently argued that Iron Age findings in stratigraphic layers bias the entire area, including Area U. Now he chose this opportunity to boldly, almost flippantly state "as well as the hewing of a series of rock-cut rooms" inferring that the rock-cut-rooms should also assume this Iron Age date. Not so fast Joe, here I present the most pertinent facts related to the strata and dating of the rock-cut-rooms, which you seem to ignore. 

With this information you can consider whether the last use of the rock-cut-rooms should be dated to the Iron Age (IA) or the Middle Bronze (MB) Age? I will only present the most relevant, critical, carbon dated samples, that were found closest to bedrock. 

Click to enlarge color coded image 

Sample IA RTD 9180 was found in a small pit (south) in a room and MB RTD 9181 on the northern end in a 5 cm ash layer just above the upper bedrock surface of Area-U, the ridge west of the rock-cut-rooms (in the pink rectangle). MB RTD 10293 and RTD 9965, were also found in Area U, but importantly these were located below the level of the upper bedrock surface, in soft soil, under a man-made plaster layer in a water channel that ran into rock-cut-rooms 1 and 5. MB RTD 10191, the oldest MB sample, was found under leveling rocks that were used to stabilize the wall of Room 1948. IA RTD 11362, furthest to the north, was found in a 5 cm ash layer and is the oldest of the IA samples found in that excavation.

Anecdotally notice the IA samples RTD 9180 and RTD 11362 are found on the south-north extremities of rock-cut rooms and are adjacent, whereas MB samples RTD 10293, RTD 9965, RTD 9181 and RTD 10191 are aligned east-west, to the functional, bedrock layers of the rock-cut-rooms.

For this discussion, there is little point paying attention to stratigraphic layers above these samples because they reflect the earliest possible dates the rock-cut-rooms were used, which is the fact that must still be established. I'm appealing to Joe to clarify these important, perhaps critical points because these rock-cut-rooms are extremely sensitive and these low lying stratigraphic samples potentially align with Israel's forefathers or even earlier Biblical figures and it deserves to be treated accordingly. 

King David Searched For This Temple of His Forefathers

In the early years of his kingship, David sensed it, but never knew that right under his feet was the temple, on Mount Moriah, where his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob once worshipped. Instead, he spent most of his life searching for the place to build the nations temple.  

For 7 years we progressed down through ~7 meters of dirt, excavating materials in each of the time bound layers on our way to the bedrock below. Finally, compressed destruction layers revealed the archaeological motherload, critical remnants that had been buried for thousands of years. Several Iron Age buildings rested along the western bedrock edge that descended into the void of six rock-cut-rooms immediately below to the east.

Pottery discovered in Iron Age buildings

But, pottery and other items paled in comparison to the secrets that were trapped closest to bedrock and in mortar from the walls. The organic materials were our true prize and samples 9181 and 9962 were the most puzzling. These two samples had been trapped in an ash layer, under the stone wall of building W15048 was sample 9181 and under a fallen rock nearby 9962. 

"Next to the channel/installation, at the level of up to 10 cm above the bedrock, a thin ca. 1-cm horizontal layer of ash was identified. In the west, where sample RTD-9962 was taken, it was covered by a collapse of medium size stones, and to the east, dated by RTD-9181, it continued beneath a floor of an Iron age building. The ash horizon could be traced for ca. 2 m and it dates between 1605 and 1510 BC." | Weizmann/Cambridge.

Two IAA reference Maps overlayed. The red dots mark sample 9181 and 9962.

What's so special about these samples, you may ask?  For 15 years archaeologists sought to discover more about the bedrock rooms. When were they constructed, what were the order of construction, when did they go out of use and one of the most perplexing questions of all, did King David and Solomon ever learn of there existence. 

Approximately 600 years before King David

For nearly 1000 years, through King David and Solomon, samples 9181 and 9962 survived in 5cm of ash on top of 10cm of soil, until later they were sealed by an Iron Age building and a fallen rock. Their deposition was followed by a period of abandonment and burial by soil falling from the natural slope, most likely during the well known 17th century settlement gap. Later structures, of the 13th century, early Iron Age, were built on top of compacted soil close to the bedrock protecting the samples and later modifications to those structures continued their protection.

Immediately southwest of these samples, a Middle Bronze Age water channel and reservoir was constructed and last used in 1535 BCE during a narrow time-window that overlaps the last 30 years Jacob lived in the region before Israel immigrated to Egypt and returned, 250 years later, during the early Iron Age. More than 300 years later King David conquered and occupied the Jebusite city on Mount Moriah. More than one hundred years after King David these Iron Age structures were constructed securing the samples. 

From the evidence we must conclude that during the time of David and Solomon the ash layer in which 9181 and 9962 lay was not disturbed by foot traffic or the Middle Bronze ash layers would have been disrupted. Further that construction over these samples was light and inconsequential because the building walls were not required to be secured to the bedrock foundation. 

During King David’s reign, the rock-cut-rooms may have been entirely buried by natural debris and soil from the steep slope or perhaps the local residents purposely obfuscated the temple site. Either way it’s increasingly clear that once the temple went and stayed out of use sometime shortly after 1535 BCE.

The video below demonstrates the evolution of Mount Moriah and the obfuscation of its eastern slope.