Excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority on the eastern slope of the City of David, within the Jerusalem Walls National Park, uncovered a unique First Temple period structure. This complex features eight rock-hewn rooms containing an altar, a standing stone (masseba), an oil press, and a winepress.
In a recently published article in the scientific journal Atiqot, excavation director Eli Shukron suggests that the structure served as a site for cultic or religious practices used by the people of Judah (Evidence of Worship in the Rock-Cut Rooms on the Eastern Slope of the City of David, Jerusalem).
The structure, dating to the First Temple period, is exceptional for its time. It is the only known ritual site from this era discovered in Jerusalem and among the few found in Israel. Located just a few hundred meters from the Temple Mount, the structure was likely used for ritual activities while the Temple was still operational.
Spanning approximately 220 square meters, the structure includes eight rooms, each containing distinct features: an oil press for producing oil, a winepress for making wine, a carved installation with a drainage channel identified as an altar, and a large standing stone, likely the focus of ritual activity. One room’s floor contains mysterious V-shaped carvings, whose purpose remains uncertain. Shukron theorizes that these marks may have supported a tripod used in ritual ceremonies.
A small cave at the edge of the structure yielded a cache of artifacts from the eighth century BCE, including cooking pots, jars with fragments of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, loom weights, scarabs, decorative stamped seals, and grinding stones for grain processing.
The structure’s use appears to have ceased in the 8th century BCE, coinciding with King Hezekiah’s religious reforms. According to the Bible, Hezekiah sought to centralize worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, abolishing other ritual sites across the kingdom. Shukron explains, “The site was sealed with fill from the 8th century BCE, indicating it fell out of use at that time. The standing stone remained upright, and the structure’s other rooms were well-preserved.”
The northern portion of the site was first discovered in 1909 by British explorer Montague Parker during his search for the Ark of the Covenant. However, the current excavation, led by Shukron, began in 2010 and was conducted over several seasons, revealing the full extent and significance of this rare structure.
