Biblical Archaeology Review - January-February 2018

Holy lanDfill

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW 39

the city revolved around the Temple as local and

international pilgrimage—unique to the Temple in

Jerusalem—continued to grow, reaching its zenith

during the first century C.E. The garbage layers on

Jerusalem’s eastern slopes, in some places more than

36 feet thick, are a silent witness to those glori-

ous but troubled times. If excavated correctly, we

hypothesized that the garbage layers could poten-

tially shed light on the dietary habits, trading prac-

tices, and vocational diversity of the ancient resi-

dents of Jerusalem.

The immense layers of the landfill as counted by

archaeologist Ronny Reich^3 were observed by each of

the 16 excavators of the City of David. Most of them

ignored the layers and attempted to bypass them in

their excavations. The phenomenon of landfill cir-

cumvention was so impressive that it was recorded

on the plans of early 19th-century explorers such

as Conrad Schick and Raymond Weill.^4 They were

quick to recognize the fact that the landfill layers

DISTINCT LAYERS emerged from the landfill during exca-

vation. These can be seen in the above cross-section—

with the neighborhood of Silwan in the background—and

in the drawing, to the right.

COURTESY YUVAL GADOT

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