View source for Stepped Stone Structure

{{Short description|Iron Age structure in Jerusalem}}
{{About|an archaeological site in Jerusalem|the recurring architectural form|step pyramid}}
[[File:Ir-david03.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The structure with the "House of Ahiel" built on top of it]]

The '''Stepped Stone Structure''' is the name given to the remains at a particular archaeological site (sometimes termed '''Area G''') on the eastern side of the [[City of David (historic)|City of David]], the oldest part of [[Jerusalem]]. The curved, {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}}, narrow stone structure is built over a series of terraces (hence the name). A [[casemate]] wall adjoins the structure from a northerly direction at the upper levels, and may have been the original city wall.

==Excavation and interpretation==
[[R. A. Stewart Macalister|Macalister]], the first to excavate the structure in the 1920s, called the remains he had found a "ramp" and believed it to be [[Jebusite]].<ref>{{cite book |first=R.A.S |last=Macalister |first2=J. Garrow |last2=Duncan |title=Excavations on the hill of Ophel, Jerusalem, 1923-1925, being the joint expedition of the Palestine exploration fund and the 'Daily Telegraph' |year=1926 |url=http://www3.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/eos/eos_title.pl?callnum=DS111.A1P28_vol4_cop1 |location=London |publisher=Palestine Exploration Fund |pages=51–55}}</ref> Work continued in the 1960s with [[Kathleen Kenyon]], who dated the structure to the start of [[Iron Age]] II (1000–900 BCE).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Digging up Jerusalem |last=Kenyon |first=Kathleen M. |publisher=Benn |year=1974 |pages=47–48, 101 |publication-place=London |oclc=17997439}}</ref> [[Yigal Shiloh]] excavated in the 1970s–80s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shiloh |first1=Yigal |title=Excavations at the City of David I, 1978-1982: Interim Report of the First Five Seasons |publisher=Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem |series=Qedem |volume=19 |year=1984 |location=Jerusalem |pages=17, 27 |oclc=1123472006}}</ref> After the discoveries by Kenyon and Shiloh, some scholars have suggested that the structure might be a retaining wall of a large administrative building or fortress.<ref>{{cite book |title=Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context: A Tribute to Nadav Naʼaman |last=Mazar |first=Amihai |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-57506-128-3 |page= 267 |editor-last=Naʼaman |editor-first=Nadav |chapter=Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C.E.: The Glass Half Full |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ku4OKVrEd4MC&pg=PA267}}</ref> [[Israel Finkelstein]] ''et al.'' propose and argue that the upper part of the structure was either built, or substantially rebuilt in the [[Hasmonean]] period.<ref name="Finkelstein2007">{{cite journal |doi=10.1179/tav.2007.2007.2.142 |first1=Israel |last1=Finkelstein |authorlink=Israel Finkelstein |first2=Ze'ev |last2=Herzog |authorlink2=Ze'ev Herzog |first3=Lily |last3=Singer-Avitz |authorlink3=Lily Singer-Avitz |first4=David |last4=Ussishkin |authorlink4=David Ussishkin |year=2007 |url=https://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/info/TA34-2_King_David.pdf |title=Has King David's Palace in Jerusalem Been Found? |journal=Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=142–164 |s2cid=161500349 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305225911/https://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/info/TA34-2_King_David.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-05 }}</ref>{{rp|154}} However, [[Jodi Magness]] argues that the archaeological evidence suggests that the structure was initially built in the 12th century BCE (Iron Age I).<ref>{{cite book |title=Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades |last=Magness |first=Jodi |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-19-093780-5 |pages=71–74}}</ref>

===Millo theory===
[[File:Stepped structure unearthed in the City of David.jpg|thumb|Stepped structure unearthed at the ancient City of David (Jerusalem)]]
It is hypothesized that the structure may be the Biblical [[Millo]]. A recent excavation by [[Eilat Mazar]] directly above the Stepped Stone Structure shows that the structure connects with and supports the [[Large Stone Structure]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= Mazar |first= Eilat |chapter= The Stepped Stone Structure |editor= Eilat Mazar |title= The Summit of the City of David, Excavations 2005-2008: Final Reports Volume I. Area G |year=2015 |pages= 169–188 |publisher= Shoham Academic Research and Publication |isbn= 978-965-7726-00-6}}</ref> Mazar's interpretation of the evidence yields her hypothesis that the Large Stone Structure was an Israelite royal palace in continuous use from the tenth century until 586 BCE. She motivates her conclusion that the stepped stone structure and the large stone structure are parts of a single, massive royal palace by citing the biblical reference to the House of Millo in {{bibleverse|2 Kings|12:21}} as the place where King [[Jehoash of Judah|Joash]] was assassinated in 799 BCE while he slept in his bed. Millo is derived from "fill", (Hebrew ''milui''). The stepped stone support structure is built of fills.<ref>Mazar, Eilat, ''Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005–2007'', Shoham, Jerusalem and New York, 2009, p. 67.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Large Stone Structure]]
* [[Millo]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

[[Category:Silwan]]
[[Category:Ancient sites in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Archaeological discoveries in the West Bank]]
[[Category:City of David (archaeological site)]]


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