28 NADAV NA’AMAN The projecting tower that is mentioned three times in Nehemiah’s rebuilding operation (3,25.26.27) may safely be identified with the Stepped Stone Structure, the most prominent structure in the City of David, constructed in order to support and fortify the royal residence built on top of it. This identification obviously clarifies the course of Nehemiah’s building project on the eastern side of the city (as de- tailed below). The Large Stone Structure, which Eilat Mazar un- earthed and identified as the residence of King David, is a suitable candidate for this building, or better, for its northeastern wing. A large amount of pottery from the Iron Age and Persian periods was un- earthed in and near the edifice, indicating continuity of settlement in the area 19. Unfortunately, the erosion of the floors of the building and the deplorable state of its preservation prevents verifying her at- tractive suggestion of a tenth century date for its foundation 20. Some scholars recently suggested that throughout most periods in the second and first millennia BCE, the main built-up area of Jerusalem was limited to the mound on the Temple Mount, in an area that ar- chaeologically cannot be examined. Only in the Iron IIB and late Hel- lenistic Periods, the fortified settlement expanded and included the City of David and the Southwestern Hill 21. This (in my opinion highly un- likely) suggestion deserves extensive discussion, but that is beyond the scope of this article. However, the stronghold of Zion held by the Je- busites before David’s conquest and the royal residence built in the tenth century in the City of David were both located near the Stepped Stone Structure, hence far south of the area of the Temple Mount. II. Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy (Salomon) The history of Solomon includes a series of statements which, when combined together, point to a coherent and unified picture of the King’s operations in Jerusalem. I will first put forward these statements and then analyze them in detail. 19 For the pottery unearthed in the excavations of the site, see E. MAZAR, Preliminary Report; idem, The Palace of King David; idem, “Wall”, 24–33. 20 For the debate on the date of the Large Stone Structure, see notes 2-3 above. 21 E.A. KNAUF, “Jerusalem in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages: A Pro- posal”, Tel Aviv 27 (2000) 78-79 and n. 8; I. FINKELSTEIN – I. KOCH – O. LIP- SCHITS, “The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the ‘Problem with Jerusalem’“, JHS 11 (2011) Article 12.