Excavation work at a new neighborhood in southern Jerusalem has uncovered evidence of an Assyrian siege in 701 BCE. Along with the stone remains of two administrative structures, stamped tax collection jars were also unearthed, leading archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to dub the site the “economic generator of the Judean kingdom.”
The findings were uncovered during excavation work at the future site of Jerusalem‘s Mordot Arnona neighborhood, which is slated to undergo construction in the near future. As aforementioned, the remains of two buildings were unearthed, as were a number of tax collection jars, which show a shift in local politics around the time of the Assyrian’s siege on the city.
Prior to this, the majority of evidence pointing to a military campaign against Jerusalem had primarily been found in the Judean Lowlands.
“We discovered remains of a significant royal administrative center from the days of King Hezekiah, and perhaps from the reign of his father, King Ahaz,” excavation directors Neria Sapir, Benyamin Storchan and Natan Ben-Ari said in a press release. “The center functioned in the last third of the 8th century BCE but was destroyed down to its foundations and buried under a massive heap of stones.
“The stone pile formed a platform upon which subsequent structure was erected, holding a commanding view of all agricultural areas to the east of the Armon Ha-Natziv – Ramat Rahel ridge, and could be seen from afar,” they added. “Large building stones originating from the early structure were deliberately incorporated into the heap.”
The Assyrian siege on Jerusalem in 701 BCE was carried out by those under King Sennacherib of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Slated to serve as the end of his military campaign in the Levant, it aimed to return control to the ruler following a rebellion four years prior, which led to Hezekiah rising up as a vassal king. While the Assyrians were able to conquer much of Judea, they weren’t, for some unknown reason, able to capture Jerusalem.
According to the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 19:35), the siege failed because “the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp” (2 Kings 19:35).
Assyrian records, however, state Hezekiah paid a tribute to Sennacherib, so Jerusalem would be spared.
Such destruction and rebuilding is believed to have been “a statement by the Assyrian imperial government, intended to convey a political-diplomatic message to the surrounding region and make it clear ‘who is really in charge’.”
The original administrative building was used to collect agricultural taxes, shown by the stamped jars found at the site. Following the rebuilding of the structure in the 7th century BCE, such levies, once again, began to be collected. However, instead of being paid to Hezekiah, newer jars indicate they were sent the King of Assyria. The Israel Antiquities Authority states this indicates that, while the former may have remained the king of Judea, the Assyrians were exercising increased control.
In the press release, Israeli Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu said, “It is very moving to encounter messages from high-ranking officials in the Judahite administration from some 2,700 years ago. The fascinating discovery by the Israel Antiquities Authority tells the millennia-long story of the Jewish people, who – despite crises and very difficult periods – have always known how to rise again, rebuild, and thrive.”
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The Israel Antiquities Authority is working alongside researchers from Tel Aviv University to study the jars in more detail.