Issues@Hand

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Photo above: In his MSU laboratory, Jimmy Hardin examines an Egyptian figurine dating to the 10th or 11th century BC. Photo: Mississippi State University/Megan Bean

March 2015 – An archeological team from Mississippi State University, led by Jimmy Hardin, associate professor in the MSU Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, recently unearthed six official clay seals at a small site in Israel. The seals offer evidence that supports the existence of biblical kings David and Solomon. The find is important as many modern scholars dismiss David and Solomon as mythological figures.

Hardin said, “Our preliminary results indicated that this site is integrated into a political entity that is typified by elite activities, suggesting that a state was already being formed in the 10th century B.C. We are very positive that these [seals] are associated with the Iron Age IIA, which we date to the 10th century B.C., and which lends general support to the historical veracity of David and Solomon as recorded in the Hebrew biblical texts.”

Other archeologists believe they have found the site of Jesus’s trial at Herod’s palace. Though the placement is controversial, the Tower of David Museum, next door to the dig site, plans to expand and include the site as an exhibit.

msstate.edu, 12/15/14; washingtonpost.com, 1/4/15