Photos by author except for bottom right. Photo Credit: Mboesch (CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons

Post 13 – The building projects of King Solomon, this week in #weeklybiblereadingarcheology. In addition to building the Temple, 2 Chronicles 1:14 speaks of Solomons “chariot cities”. 1 Kings 9:15-17 states that Solomon fortified the cities of Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer mentioning them alongside the “chariot cities”. Interestingly archeologists at Megiddo have discovered two royal stable complexes that had the capacity to hold 480 horses (Left). There may be other stables not yet excavated. The stables discovered held two horses per stall, which is unusual unless the horses work together as a team… as on a chariot! Also, at Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer excavations have revealed complex city gates from the 10th century BCE built on identical plans (Right 3 pics), This demonstrates that they were built around the same time by the same builder. These gates are commonly called, “Solomonic Gates”. #biblereadingarcheology #biblereadingarchaeology