Archaeologists have announced that they have discovered remnants of the palace of King David in the archaeological site called Qayifa located in the Elah Valley, just outside of Bet Shemesh.

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University and Antiquities Authority have announced that the remnants of the palace show that the palace was located in a strategic spot. Based on the size, the palace would have overlooked the town of Gat and the ares in which the Philistines resided. Looking west the palace would have view of the coastal region, and that extends eastwards and southwards all the way to Jerusalem and Hebron.

In the ongoing debate among a variety of historians and archaeologists about the actual status of King David and his reign, this find might resolve matters. Two buildings were discovered in the ruins - one has been identified as King David's palace, and the second identified as a huge royal storage house. They are saying that this is clear proof of the existence of David's kingdom and that it knew to establish power centers in strategic locations. Qayifa was destroyed in the battles with the Philistines at about 980 BC.

The timing of this discovery was right for the protests against construction in the hills outside RBS. While the regional committee found a way to speed up the hearings in an unprecedented way, this new find can, and already is, be used as another reason to alter the original plans - now Qayifa is not just the ruins of a village, but has major historical significance.


(source and more details of what was discovered can be found at NRG)