Khirbet Qeiyafa is part of National Geographic’s upcoming feature article “Kings of Controversy” (December, 2010). The article deals with the historicity of the biblical David and Solomon. Prof. Yossi Garfinkel, director of excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, is interviewed in the story along with Prof. Israel Finkelstein, who is well-known for his conclusions that David was only a hill-chieftain in the dusty “cow town” of Jerusalem.
You can read the text of the article via the above link. It addresses the decades-long controversy over King David and the nature of Israel during his time. As mentioned in my previous post, a similar television program airs next Tuesday, November 22nd. The TV program and the article are based on work done prior to this summer, so Qeiyafa’s voice in this debate is larger than 4 olive pits and the 3,000 year-old inscription. Well see how everything is treated soon enough.
Qeiyafa’s 2010 discoveries will be presented tomorrow afternoon at the ASOR meeting in Atlanta. I’ll post on that and other subjects soon.
Bible, Archaeology, and Travel with Luke Chandler 