A literally earth-shattering Biblical discovery

Excavations at the City of David in Jerusalem have persisted through the lockdown period and continued to produce material evidence for Old Testament history.

In 2021 the excavators made an announcement that was literally earth-shattering – walls from the middle of the eighth century BC that had suffered from a major earthquake. Inevitably, archaeological sites often look like an earthquake has hit. But this is rarely the case. Cities and towns often crumble through war, poverty or neglect. However, the discipline of archaeoseismology (try saying that out loud) can identify destruction caused by earthquakes.

The displacement of walls and patterns of damage to artefacts can all be indications of earthquake. I once worked with an archaeologist for whom this was a speciality – literally being able to distinguish between a fracture caused by an earthquake and those caused by warfare or erosion.