Read the full original review by Oded Borowski as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review , Jan/Feb 2012
Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem: A Remarkable Archaeological Adventure
By Eilat Mazar
Jerusalem: Shoham Academic Research and Publication, 2011
174 pp., 213 illus., $39.95 (hardcover)
Most archaeologists can remember the specific moment when they fell in love with history and the process of archaeological discovery. Hebrew University archaeologist Eilat Mazar’s pivotal moment came very early in her career; she was a young girl when she accompanied her grandfather, famed Israeli archaeologist Benjamin Mazar, to his excavation near the Temple Mount. She later participated in excavations in the City of David and has, most recently, been credited with discovering a Jerusalem wall built by King Solomon. This wall from the time of King Solomon is considered to be one of her most notable achievements, though she has also made substantial headway in her excavation of the Ophel in Jerusalem, the area adjacent to the City of David where the wall was discovered.
In her new book Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem, Mazar describes her discovery of the wall from the time of King Solomon, as well as a particular segment of her excavations at the Ophel in Jerusalem (the area located between the Temple Mount and the City of David). Written primarily for a popular audience, Mazar’s book details her early archaeological work in the City of David under Hebrew University Professor Yigal Shiloh, an excavation which marked the beginning of her professional involvement in Jerusalem archaeology. Professor Oded Borowski of Emory University, who reviewed the book for Biblical Archaeology Review, notes that Mazar also provides a thorough history of the excavations at the Ophel in Jerusalem, beginning with the work conducted by 19th-century British explorer Charles Warren. She then goes on to discuss the excavations conducted at the Ophel in Jerusalem during the 20th century by Dame Kathleen Kenyon, her grandfather Benjamin Mazar, as well as her own recent work.Our free eBook Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries brings together the exciting worlds of archaeology and the Bible! Learn the fascinating insights gained from artifacts and ruins, like the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, where the Gospel of John says Jesus miraculously restored the sight of the blind man, and the Tel Dan inscription—the first historical evidence of King David outside the Bible.