By Aaron Earls
Naked mole rats don’t show up in any biblical prophecy, but they may have played a role in a significant discovery in biblical archaeology.
In recent years, skeptics have denied that King David existed and that a united kingdom of Israel became a regional power during his reign.
Previously, a rock discovered in 1993 containing an inscription about the “House of David” was one of the few tangible, extrabiblical evidences for David.
That may change now, thanks to some mole rats.
Archaeologists working at the Tel ‘Eton excavation site have used the piles of dirt dug up by burrowing rodents to discover something surprising.
“The mole rat told us that there is a small settlement in a place where nobody thought a settlement had existed,” Professor Avraham Faust of Bar-llan University explained to Haaretz.
The remains discovered by the mole rats show the existence of a large building—called the “Governor’s Residency” by the archaeologists—that dates to the time of King David and demonstrates a powerful kingdom.
“We, of course, did not find any artifacts that said ‘King David’ or ‘King Solomon,’ but we discovered at the site signs of a social transformation the region underwent,” Faust told Breaking Israel News.
“This has bearing on the date in which social complexity evolved in Judah [and] on the debate regarding the historicity of the kingdom of David and Solomon,” Faust said.
Radiocarbon dating from foundation deposits, olive pits, and coal found on the floor of the building pointed to the 11th or 10th century B.C.—the time of the unified Davidic kingdom of Israel.
If Faust’s work is proven true, it will be the second major archaeological site attributed to David’s reign.
In 2007, a military fortress 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem was discovered and dated to the time of David.
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AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.
