Archaeologists unearth building destroyed by fire in 586 BCE
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Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a building that was destroyed by fire during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
This is according to a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science last week.
Building 100
The researchers called the structure Building 100 and its remains underwent a variety of studies to understand how the fire began. The analyses revealed that the now famous building was once a large two-story home belonging to a member of Jerusalem’s higher classes.
However, although archaeologists are sure that the building was decimated by a fire, they don’t know how the destruction came to be.
“Evidence in the debris of the building left no doubt regarding the presence of fire,” the archaeologists stated in their study.
“There was no visible indication as to whether it was intentional or accidental, and if intentional, where the fire started and how it spread.”
The researchers employed various techniques to try and determine whether the fire was set on purpose or whether it was purely accidental.
“FTIR spectrometry and archaeomagnetic analysis were combined in the micro-archaeological study of the remains in order to create a detailed reconstruction of the destruction event. This reconstruction sheds new light on how the Babylonian destruction was manifested in reality in the elite buildings of Jerusalem,” said the researchers in their abstract.
“The goal is to identify the intensity, direction, and origin of the fire that destroyed Building 100 in order to reconstruct the destruction process in detail, to determine whether the fire was intentional as part of the events of the Babylonian destruction, and to learn about the measures taken by the agents of this destruction in their treatment of this elite building,” the researchers further explained.
Ignition point
By looking for an ignition point by measuring the magnetic signatures of pottery shards and broken floor panels, the team was able to deduce that the fire had started on the top floor of the building.
“The widespread presence of charred remains suggests a deliberate destruction by fire, which was ignited at several locations in the top and bottom floors, with heat rising to burn the ceiling of the bottom floor. The spread of the fire and the rapid collapse of the building indicate that the destroyers invested great efforts to completely demolish the building and take it out of use," noted the scientists.
The researchers further speculated that the building was likely affected by a fire set as a punitive measure for disobedience. At the time of the building’s existence, the Kingdom of Judah had launched a rebellion against the Babylonian invaders, and as a result, the king of Neo-Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, had ordered the annihilation of Jerusalem.
Study abstract:
Evidence of fire is one of the most important features for identifying and characterizing destruction events. Analysis of microscopic remains of fire has developed exceedingly in recent years, enabling archaeologists to examine new questions relating to the intensity of destruction events and to the circumstances of the creation of destruction layers. One of the most crucial events in the history of the Southern Levant is the Babylonian destruction of Judah and its capital Jerusalem in 586 BCE, which shaped the biblical narrative and theology for generations to come. Building 100 was an extraordinarily large and rich elite building, thoroughly destroyed during the Babylonian campaign. This paper presents a study of the destruction layer excavated within the rooms of the building. FTIR spectrometry and archaeomagnetic analysis were combined in the micro-archaeological study of the remains in order to create a detailed reconstruction of the destruction event. This reconstruction sheds new light on how the Babylonian destruction was manifested in reality in the elite buildings of Jerusalem.
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