Burnt Beams from 2,600 Years Ago Unearthed

Coinciding with the nine days preceding Tisha b’Av when Solomon’s Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, massive burnt wooden beams attesting to that conflagration were discovered recently at an archaeological dig in the Givati parking lot in the City of David. The excavations were conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University (TAU) within the City of David – the country’s most active archaeological site – situated within the Jerusalem Walls National Park.

According to Excavation Director Efrat Bocher, “The beams appear to have served as the roof of an inner courtyard in a building from the First Temple period. 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.”

“It is very rare in Israel to find wood with such a large number of growth rings,” said Dr. Johanna Regev of the IAA, 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, we could date finds 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.”

The excavation directors noted that Jerusalem’s deported residents, following their return after King Cyrus the Great of Persia issued his famous liberation decree, likely decided to preserve the memory of the destruction by leaving behind remains that tell the story of the catastrophe.

“The concept of a landscape of memory is familiar from many cultures around the world,” explained Dr. Yiftah Shalev, who directs the excavation on behalf of the IAA alongside Prof. Yuval Gadot of TAU. According to Dr. Shalev, “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.”

“We are just before Tisha b’Av,” adds Bocher. “This discovery makes you feel that you are witnessing the very moment of destruction, the moment when it all happened. It’s deeply moving.”

Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu commented on the new discovery: “Jerusalem’s soil continues to provide tangible evidence of the city’s ancient past. 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.”

After the Givati parking lot is excavated to bedrock, the site will become the new headquarters of the City of David National Park. The reinforced roof of the building will house a cable car stretching across the Valley of Hinnom – the biblical Gehenna where infants were sacrificed to the fire god, Moloch – to the future train station and light rail stop now under construction at Jerusalem’s Ottoman-era railroad station.

After preservation work, the charred wooden beams will likely be displayed at the Israel Museum.

Gil Zohar is a journalist and licensed tour guide in Jerusalem.