Archaeologists excavating at the Givati Parking Lot in Jerusalem recently discovered charred wooden beams from the Babylonian destruction of the city in 587/586 BC. The beams were likely part of the roof over an inner courtyard that collapsed onto the floor. During the fire, plaster from the building’s walls apparently melted and covered the wooden beams, which helped preserve them. Archaeological excavations rarely uncover wood this old with so many growth rings, and scholars hope these tree rings, along with radiocarbon dating, will shed more light on the history of these beams. Were the trees cut down just a few years before the Babylonian destruction, or were they felled several decades earlier? Were the beams already old and reused from older buildings?
Source: https://www.iaa.org.il/en/page/news-index (see “Burnt Wooden Beams from the Destruction of Jerusalem During the First Temple Period Discovered in the City of David” [July 20, 2026])
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