Archaeological evidence of an earthquake mentioned in the Bible

The famous earthquake, which occurred in Israel about 2800 years ago and appears in the Bible, was previously uncovered in several locations throughout Israel, but the researchers believe that for the first time they were able to identify remains of destruction that indicate that the earthquake also hit Jerusalem - the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.

In the archaeological excavations of the Antiquities Authority in the City of David National Park, a layer of ruins was discovered, which includes a row of broken vessels, including candles, storage jars and cooking utensils, which crashed when the walls of the building collapsed on them. According to the researchers, since no signs of fire were found, this is not a deliberate event and the reason for the building's collapse is the earthquake that occurred in Israel during the eighth century BC, during the Kingdom of Judah.

According to Dr. Joe Uziel and Ortal Kalaf, the excavation managers on behalf of the Antiquities Authority: "When we excavated the building and uncovered a layer of destruction from the 8th century BC, we were very surprised, because we know that Jerusalem continued to exist continuously until the Babylonian destruction, which occurred about 200 years later. We asked ourselves what could have caused the dramatic layer of destruction we uncovered. After examining the findings of the excavation, we tried to see if there is a reference to this in the biblical text. Interestingly, the earthquake that appears in the Bible in the books of Amos and Zechariah, occurred at the same time when the structure we excavated in the City of David collapsed. The combination of the find in the field together with the biblical description, led us to the conclusion that the earthquake that hit the Land of Israel during the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, also hit the capital of the kingdom - Jerusalem."

According to the researchers: "The earthquake that happened in the middle of the 8th century BCE was probably one of the strongest and most damaging earthquakes in antiquity, and evidence of its occurrence was discovered in the past in excavations conducted at a variety of sites throughout Israel such as Hatzor, Gezer, Tel Round, and Tel Tsafet/Gat. Now, the latest excavations we carried out in the City of David indicate that the earthquake probably also hit Jerusalem." After their exposure, the crushed pottery was transferred to the Antiquities Authority laboratories and treated again. The findings of the excavation and the research conducted on the earthquake will be presented to the general public at the beginning of September, at the annual archaeological conference of the Magalim Institute to be held in the city of David.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Drilling at the bottom of the Dead Sea records 220,000 years of earthquakes
• The Earth's magnetic field tells the story of the destruction of the First Temple