42 NADAV NA’AMAN early settlement in the quarter is probably the result of its being sparsely inhabited in the pre-exilic period. Thus, it was easier for the new settlers to establish their buildings in a relatively non-inhabited area, instead of clearing the heavily destroyed areas and settling there. Archaeological research in the City of David faces difficulties in tracing the surviving fragments of the tenth and fifth-fourth cen- turies BCE, as the city was inhabited without interruption for hun- dreds of years in the First Temple period and after a short gap in the Second Temple period as well. Moreover, drawing an historical pic- ture of periods of decline on the basis of the fragmented remnants alone may lead to a misleading depiction. On the basis of the ar- chaeological evidence alone, it would be impossible to reconstruct the reality of these eras of decline. It is the biblical text that demon- strates the importance of the summit of the City of David in the tenth century BCE; that informs how the Temple Mount and the Ophel were the centres of urban life in the early Persian period; and that communicates that following Nehemiah’s building project, even the southern quarter of the city was surrounded by an (albeit thin) wall. In order to obtain a balanced evaluation of the ancient re- ality, we must examine in depth both the textual and the archaeo- logical evidence and avoid relying exclusively on one of them. Department of Jewish History Nadav NA’AMAN Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv 69978 Israel SUMMARY The article examines the accounts of construction works carried out in Jerusalem in the tenth and fifth-fourth centuries BCE and emphasizes the importance of local oral traditions, the role of biblical texts, and archae- ological evidence. It demonstrates that the residence built by David played an important role throughout the First Temple period. The Millo is iden- tified with the Stepped Stone Structure. Solomon possibly founded a mod- est shrine on the Temple Mount, which later became the main sanctuary of the kingdom. The Ophel was the earlier quarter settled and fortified in Jerusalem after the Babylonian destruction of 587/586.