Summary: Newly discovered decorative ivory plaques provide evidence of the power and importance of Jerusalem during the First Temple Period.
The king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. – 2 Chronicles 9:21 (ESV)
“Extraordinary” Ivory
The recent discovery of a unique collection of ivory plaques from the First Temple Period is being described by archeologists as “extraordinary.” Ivory decorations are one of the rarest finds in archeology and have never before been found in the City of David.
The group of ivory plaques are among “the few found anywhere in the world, and the first of their kind to be found in Jerusalem,” said the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). “The discovery sheds new light on the power and importance of Jerusalem at the time of the Judahite Kingdom.”
The plaques were discovered during excavations in the ruins of a large palace that was in active use when Jerusalem was at the height of its power during the 8th and 7th centuries BC.
The dig was conducted at the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David archaeological and tourism site, which is part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park by the IAA and Tel Aviv University.
Microscopic testing confirmed that the plaques were carved from African elephant tusks and was performed by doctoral candidate Harel Shochat of the University of Haifa’s Archaeology Department.
Assyria, Samaria and now Jerusalem
“To date, we only knew of decorated ivories from the capitals of the great kingdoms in the First Temple period, such as Nimrud, the capital of Assyria, or Samaria, the capital of the Israelite Kingdom,” said excavation director Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the IAA. “Now, for the first time, Jerusalem joins these capitals.”
“We were already aware of Jerusalem’s importance and centrality in the region during the First Temple period. Still, the new finds illustrate how important it was and places it in the same league as the capitals of Assyria and Israel. The discovery of the ivories is a step forward in understanding the political and economic status of the city as part of global administration and economy.”
“The prestige of ivory is also associated with the great skill required to work with it and create decorations,” explained Gadot and Shalev. “The assemblage of ivory [objects] discovered in the City of David was probably imported, and originally made by artisans from Assyria. The ivories may have come to Jerusalem as a gift from Assyria to Jerusalem’s nobility.”
Intricately carved panels of ivory were used as lavish decorations embedded into wooden furniture made for people of means, influence and power, possibly high government officials or priests.
“Following a comparison with complete objects that appear on wall plaques from the palace of the Assyrian King Sennacherib at Nineveh, we suggest that the ivory plaques from Jerusalem were originally inlaid in a couch-throne, and we may imagine that it had been situated on the second floor of the opulent structure,” Gadot and Shalev continued.
The decorations on most of the plaques found in Jerusalem were the same, stylized trees covered with rosettes in the center of frames. The rosette and the tree were popular symbols in Mesopotamia, according to Dr. Ido Koch and Reli Avisar of Tel Aviv University, who studied the objects. Other plaques displayed lotus flowers and a geometric pattern.
Animals and mythological figures have also been popular carvings found on ivory and stone items, but not the ones in Jerusalem. “It’s possible that what we have here is evidence of a cultural choice by the Jerusalem elite as to which global symbols to adopt and which to reject,” the scholars said.
Putting the Pieces Together
The remarkable building where the plaques were uncovered had been destroyed in a fire, which researchers conclude took place in 586 BC when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. The plaques had been broken into pieces and burned.
Over 1,500 ivory fragments were located and carefully reassembled. The painstaking restoration project was led by antiquities conservator Orna Cohen, together with Ilan Naor from the IAA’s Artifacts Treatment and Laboratories Department.
“At the end of the process of joining and ‘fusing’ hundreds of the fragments, we were able to understand that the assemblage includes remnants of at least 12 small square plaques—about 5 cm x 5 cm, at most 0.5 cm thick—which were originally inlaid in wooden furnishings,” said Cohen and Naor.
The ivory objects were not the only noteworthy items found at the site. Archeologists also found an agate seal, jars that had held vanilla-spiced wine, decorated stone items, wooden objects that were apparently part of other large wooden furnishings and a seal impression carrying the name “Natan-Melech servant of the king.”
The Bible and Ivory
The Bible mentions ivory a few times, always in association with royalty or great wealth. Ivory was one of the most expensive raw materials of the ancient world, even more valuable than gold.
This new discovery provides evidence that the nation of Israel did indeed have the wealth and prestige that the Bible attests to it having during the reigns of the later kings of Judah. But what about during the reigns of King David and his son Solomon at least two centuries earlier, which the Bible describes as its most prosperous and powerful years? This has been a hotly debated topic and so far, archaeologists have not been able to paint a robust picture of Israel’s wealth during the early Iron Age where they place Solomon. Instead, they categorize it as a poor period.
The Bible speaks of ivory in reference to King Solomon’s splendor and treasure. Not only is Solomon famous in the Old Testament for his extravagant wealth, but also for his God-given wisdom and tragic fall into idolatry near the end of his life.
The king [Solomon] also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. – I Kings 10:18 (ESV)
Recent finds linked to Solomon’s time have led some scholars to claim that Israel’s kingdom was stronger than previously thought by archaeologists. However, Egyptologist David Rohl has taken another more controversial approach. He proposes that the glorious empire of Solomon is thought to be missing in the archaeological record because scholars have been looking for it in the wrong period. This is an extension of his idea that Egypt’s timeline for this period is off, and recalibrating it also puts the Exodus and Conquest into earlier archaeological contexts than thought.
When looking in an older timeframe, in the deeper layers at the end of the Late Bronze Age, Canaan is considered to be at the height of its wealth with exquisite ivory carvings at Megiddo depicting a harpist playing for a king surrounded by doves. Could this be the true setting of Solomon’s empire?
Ivory is also mentioned in the Book of Amos, when the prophet speaks warnings against the prideful leaders of the northern kingdom of Israel who slumber in their wealth even as disaster approaches.
Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches.– Amos 6:4 (ESV)
We also read that King Ahab in Samaria built himself a palace made of ivory. (I Kings 22:39.)
Conclusion
“The excavations in the City of David never stop surprising us, said Eli Eskozido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “This time, with the help of the delicate and inspiring work of conservators and researchers, we have been given a glimpse into the daily life of the people who lived here thousands of years ago. These discoveries breathe life into the ancient stones. The realization that the material culture of the social elites in Jerusalem in the First Temple period did not fall short of – and perhaps even exceeded – that of the other ruling centers in the Ancient Near East demonstrates the status and importance of Jerusalem at that time.”
The discovery of these rare carved ivory plaques is encouraging to believers because they are another piece of physical evidence for the reliability of the Bible.
The plaques will be on display in October at the Jerusalem Conference of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University.
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Ivory fragment discovered among the ruins of a palatial building in use when Jerusalem was at the height of its power during the First Temple Period. (credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
