Charred roof beams from Babylon’s burning of Jerusalem found in the City of David

Excavators from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University have found burned wooden beams in the Givati Parking Lot dig in the City of David. The beams appear to have roofed an inner courtyard. When the building burned, the roof fell in, and the heat melted the wall plaster, which poured over the charred wood and sealed it under the rubble.¹

The destruction is linked to the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC, described in 2 Kings 25:9: Nebuchadnezzar’s commander burned the house of the LORD, the royal palace and every significant building in Jerusalem. The beams have many visible growth rings, which researchers hope could narrow their dating to about a decade. They also plan to identify the tree species.

Some outlets have described these as beams “from Solomon’s Temple.” The excavators have not said that. The building lies in the City of David, south of the Temple Mount. What the find does offer is a vivid, physical record of the fire the Bible describes.