Jerusalem site reveals ancient Judean tax centre
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, October 12, 2024


Jerusalem site reveals ancient Judean tax centre
A picture taken on July 22, 2020, shows ceramic fragments with seal impressions bearing ancient Hebrew script unearthed at an excavation site, dating back to the Kingdom of Judah 2700 years ago, in Jerusalem. A large collection of seal impressions dating back 2,700 years unveiled in Jerusalem this week offers rare new details about the administration in the ancient kingdom of Judah, including tax collection. The kingdom, which lasted from around from around 940 to 586 BC before being destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, was centred in Jerusalem. A few kilometres from the Old City, in the modern day west Jerusalem neighbourhood of Arona, excavators from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the remains of a compound with parts of its ancient ashlar walls still visible. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP.



JERUSALEM (AFP).- Seal impressions dating back 2,700 years were unveiled in Jerusalem this week offering rare new details about the administration in the ancient Kingdom of Judah, including tax collection.

The kingdom, which lasted from around from around 940 to 586 BC before being destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, was centred in Jerusalem.

A few kilometres from the Old City, in the modern day west Jerusalem neighbourhood of Arona, excavators from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the remains of a compound with parts of its ancient ashlar walls still visible.

The material found at the site -- a few hundred metres from the US embassy -- includes more than 120 broken clay jar handles bearing seal impressions that show the Hebrew word "lamelekh", meaning "belonging to the king".

Other seals have the Hebrew names of people presumed to have been officials in the kingdom, or wealthy men key to the economy, according Neria Sapir, excavation director for the IAA.

The IAA described the find as "one of the largest and most important collections of seal impressions uncovered in Israel".

Judean kingdom taxes were collected in the form of agricultural goods, and the site likely "served as a concentration and storage facility for agricultural produce", Sapir said.

The prominence of the structure and its proximity to ancient Jerusalem, combined with the number and type of seals found, led the IAA to conclude the site was a tax collection centre.




The jars, which probably contained olive oil and wine, were collected for the king, who then distributed them, including to leaders of the Assyrian empire, which stretched across the region at the time.

Some of the jars could have been amassed as part of preparations for the failed Judean revolt against the Assyrians around 701 BCE, according to Sapir.

The site made sense as an administrative hub given its strategic location close to Jerusalem, and the abundance of seal impressions found there reinforced its importance.

But excavators were struck by an arduous man-made pile of stones spread across the site, that must have made it a difficult surface to work on.

And yet the site remained a work centre across the span of the kingdom.

Sapir said that could be because something important was buried beneath the stones.

"This is still an unsolved question to us," he said.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

July 26, 2020

Schantz Galleries exhibits works by Albert Paley at Stockbridge Station Gallery

Jerusalem site reveals ancient Judean tax centre

Man questioned over French cathedral fire rearrested: prosecutor

Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green dies aged 73

Bombed and looted: Yemen battles to save its heritage

Sotheby's presents a survey of 20th & 21st Century Design in New York

50th anniversary of the Isle of White Festival celebrated in landmark exhibition

National Gallery of Ireland exhibition marks George Bernard Shaw's birthday

Survey by Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and BNO reveals impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Dutch designers

Original exhibitions highlight Oklahoma City Museum of Art's permanent collection

Machu Picchu empty for anniversary as Peru virus cases soar

rosenfeld opens 'Between the Forceps and the Stone', the gallery's summer exhibition

Regis Philbin, TV's indignant everyman, dies at 88

Tornabuoni announces new location in Paris

Kehrer Verlag publishes Reinout van den Bergh's Eboundja

signs and symbols reopens with exhibition of works by Drew Conrad

On August 8, The Violet Taaffe Estate goes up for bid at Turner Auctions + Appraisals

All Shook Up: Norwegian Elvis impersonator sets world record

Life and work of Joan Eardley to be celebrated in her centenary year

Juan Marsé, who wrote of Spain's dark years, is dead at 87

Phyllis Somerville, busy dtage and screen actress, dies at 76

The UK's leading contemporary art prize and exhibition Artes Mundi 9 announces new dates and plans

Artist Nathaniel Donnett creates a public installation that bridges communities

Delaware Art Museum announces exhibition of Helen Mason and Margo Allman

Causes of Dry Skin and How to Cure it

Why Invest in LED Grow Lights

The most Innovative Luxury Watches fuelling a culture of change

How to Dispose of Old Furniture in Sydney?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful