The Missing Millennium in Jerusalem’s Archaeology

What happened to tenth-century B.C. Jerusalem? This has been the focus of much recent scholarly attention and has engaged BAR readers as well.^a The tenth century was the time of the United Monarchy of Israel, the glory days of King David and his son King Solomon. For Biblical minimalists, however, who deny any historicity to the events described in the Bible,^b tenth-century Jerusalem is Exhibit A. Jerusalem is surely one of the most excavated cities in the world—yet it has yielded almost no remains that date to the tenth century. David and Solomon and their supposed kingdom are mere myth, the minimalists contend, citing Jerusalem archaeology (or the lack of evidence it has produced) in support of their case.