More on Nehemiah's wall

Christianity Today: Wall Eyed

Excerpt:

Eilat Mazar announced at a November conference that she'd identified Nehemiah's Wall in Silwan, an area in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem. She based her identification on Persian period pottery, as well as arrowheads, seals, and seal impressions, found under a tower of the wall. The items date to the time of Nehemiah, 445 B.C., when Palestine was under Persian control.

"Mazar has discovered some very interesting structures, including what she thinks to be the palace of King David, in her recent excavations," said Edwin Yamauchi, professor emeritus of ancient history at Miami University, Ohio, and president of the Near East Archaeological Society, a professional organization for evangelical archaeologists.


Israeli Says Elusive Biblical Wall Found

Excerpt:

A wall mentioned in the Bible's Book of Nehemiah and long sought by archaeologists apparently has been found, an Israeli archaeologist says.

A team of archaeologists discovered the wall in Jerusalem's ancient City of David during a rescue attempt on a tower that was in danger of collapse, said Eilat Mazar, head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute, and leader of the dig.

Artifacts including pottery shards and arrowheads found under the tower suggested that both the tower and the nearby wall are from the 5th century B.C., the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said this week. Scholars previously thought the wall dated to the Hasmonean period from about 142 B.C. to 37 B.C.

The findings suggest that the structure was actually part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt, Mazar said. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the walls, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.

"We were amazed," she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist.



Comment: I met Edwin Yamauchi back when I was in seminary school.