Archaeologists Uncover King David's Suburban Palace

Archaeologists have made a startling find in Israel. They've unearthed two royal public buildings that existed in the Kingdom of Judah during the 10^th century BCE. The structures date back to the time of King David and could have once housed the famous, historical figure.

The two buildings reside inside the remains of a walled city, known as Khirbet Queyafa. Further walls surround what appears to be the palace, which has a perimeter composed of various rooms. In these spaces, archaeologists uncovered evidence of a metal industry, special pottery vessels and fragments of alabaster vessels that were imported from Egypt.

"This is unequivocal evidence of a kingdom's existence, which knew to establish administrative organization during King David's reign. To date, no palaces have been found that can be clearly ascribed to the early tenth century BCE as we can do now," said Yossi Garfinkel and Sa'ar Ganor, two of the researchers involved in the excavation, in a news release. "Khirbet Queyafa was probably destroyed in one of the battles that were fought against the Philistines circa 980 BCE. The palace that is now being revealed and the fortified city that was uncovered in recent years are another tier in understand the beginning of the Kingdom of Judah."

The palace was once located in the center of the city, controlling all of the buildings lower than it that surrounded it. It had an excellent vantage point, allowing those who lived inside to receive views from as far away as the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Hebron Mountains and Jerusalem in the east. It would have been the perfect location to send messages with fire signals.

Unfortunately, this building didn't last forever. It was destroyed about 1,400 years after it was constructed and was eventually replaced by a fortified farmhouse during the Byzantine period. Even so, the latest findings reveal a little bit more about the history of the area and shows that there were administrative buildings in this particular city.