STEPPED STONE WALL, JERUSALEM

A frontal view of the Stepped Stone Structure

Archaeologists have tried for a long time to find evidence of David and Solomon's Jerusalem. They have been largely unsuccessful. This is not because David and Solomon did not exist, but because there is little physical evidence left from that period.

This is not surprising. There was monumental construction in Jerusalem during the Persian and Herodian periods. Building foundations were repeatedly taken down to the bedrock, removing any evidence of previous buildings.

Archaeologists also argue that the steepness of the slope and the continuous erosion washed away the detritus of David's city.

But there is one object still remaining from the City of David, and that is the monumental structure on the eastern slope in the 10th century BC - the Stepped Stone Structure.   

It is a rampart of 58 courses of limestone boulders running more than 50ft, probably a reinforcement or foundation for buildings jutting out from the eastern end of the town. Archaeologists found a network of stone terraces underneath this rampart, whose purpose was probably to stabilize and expand the narrow flat surface above it.

Was this the Millo mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:9?

'David occupied the stronghold (of Jerusalem) and named it the city of David. He built the city all around from the Millo inward.'

Did David build the first terraces in the manner of a revetment wall? See 'JERICHO: THE REVETMENT WALL' for information about this type of fortification.

This seems the most likely explanation, given that pottery from the ninth and eighth centuries BC was found in the upper courses of the Stepped Stone Structure.

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