Archaeology breakthrough after fresh evidence of 2,800-year-old palace found

Incised ashlar blocks found at a historic site in Jordan may have led to a major breakthrough.

The stone blocks unearthed at a site just east of Dayr Allah in the western part of the country may have been part of an Israelite palace built some 2,800 years ago, according to two Israeli researchers.

They showcase scenes of lions and banquets – key to the study led by authors Professor Finkelstein of Haifa University and Professor Tallay Ornan of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

During their research, the experts compared the decorations on the blocks to drawings found at another Israelite site, located in Sinai.

They dated back the depictions on the unearthed blocks to the first half of the eighth century BCE due to the style of the decorations.

The study, published on Wednesday in the , deepens historians and archaeologists’ understanding of the history and art of the Kingdom of – also known as Northern Kingdom or Samaria Kingdom – which ruled over part of the Transjordan region as well as Samaria and Galilee between the 1030s BCE and 720s BCE.

It also cast a light on biblical narratives in the Mahanaim area, a place mentioned a number of times in the .

While the authors stressed the study isn’t stating to have found evidence confirming the historicity of any biblical narratives in the region, they believe their research has highlighted the administrative presence of the Israelite kingdom in the area at the time.

This study is just one of the recent archaeological researches that have focused on the Israeli and Middle Eastern area.

In July last year, researchers at the University of Haifa published a study presenting fresh evidence of the existence of a tsunami that they believe destroyed early medieval Caesarea, in western .

Earlier that same year, the Antiquities Authority said a family found part of a Byzantine candle holder during their walk in the town of Tzur Yitzhak.