Biblical and Historical Jerusalem in the Tenth and Fifth-Fourth Centuries BCE The urban character of Jerusalem in the tenth and fifth centuries BCE has been hotly debated among scholars since the early 1990s. The Temple Mount, the area where Solomon’s major building op- erations took place according to biblical historiography, cannot be archaeologically examined. Hence, the most important area for in- vestigation remains terra incognita. What was available for arche- ological research is the area of the City of David located to its south and the agricultural periphery around the city. Unfortunately, the excavation of the City of David is replete with difficulties. In high- land sites, the bedrock is high and late constructions and levelling might have removed the traces of the earlier buildings and scat- tered the artifacts. This is especially common in Jerusalem, which was built on terraces and settled for thousands of years, each new city resting its foundations on the bedrock and destroying part of what was left underneath. Archaeological research can identify the fragmented remains and establish their date and function. Yet often, the erosion and obliteration of much of the evidence by later oper- ations, the fragmented state of the structures, and the dispersal of the artifacts hinder the reconstruction of the ancient reality 1. In light of these difficulties, no wonder that controversies exist among archaeologists on the interpretation of the fragmented data unearthed in the excavations. Some scholars claim that the results of the excavations support (at least partially) the biblical stories of David and Solomon 2, whereas others dismiss them altogether and 1 See N. NA’AMAN, “The Contribution of the Amarna Letters to the Debate on Jerusalem’s Political Position in the Tenth Century B.C.E.”, BASOR 304 (1996) 17-27; idem, “Does Archaeology Really Deserve the Status of a ‘High Court’ in Biblical Historical Research?”, Between Evidence and Ideology (eds. B.E.J.H. BECKING – L.L. GRABBE) (OTS 59; Leiden 2010) 165-183. 2 See recently: E. MAZAR, Preliminary Report on the City of David Exca- vations 2005 at the Visitors Center Area (Jerusalem 2007); idem, The Palace of King David. Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005-2007 (Jerusalem 2009); A. MAZAR, “Jerusalem in the 10th Century B.C.E.: The Glass Half Full”, Essays on Ancient Israel in BIBLICA 93.1 (2012) 21-42