4. The ancient fortress of Jerusalem, the disputed discovery of the “Spring Citadel” supposedly captured by David offers partial corroboration of aspects of the ancient biblical narrative regarding the Kingdom of Judah
A prominent feature of the early biblical narrative, the “Spring Citadel” was a giant 18th-century BCE fortress that protected the city of Jerusalem from prospective invaders. Allowing access to the Gihon Spring only from inside the city, its 7 meter thick walls were overcome by the armies of David during his conquest of the city against the Jebusites before disappearing from history at some later date. A focal point of archaeological inquiry in an effort to verify aspects of several important historical moments of the Bible, after almost twenty years of searching evidence of the ancient fortification was eventually identified.
Discovering remnants of stacked five-ton stones reaching approximately 6 meters in thickness, the largest walls to date stemming from the pre-Herod era of the region, the archaeological find is also situated suspiciously close to the ancient city’s water source, seemingly confirming the historicity of the citadel. However, demonstrating the problems endemic in the Bible’s historical reliability, radiocarbon dating of the site has now brought into question the entire biblical timeline, suggesting that the fortress was constructed at a much later date than originally assumed.