Archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University have discovered huge sycamore wood support beams charred during the destruction of the First Temple. The First Temple, built by the biblical King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Researchers found the well-preserved beams during an excavation at the Givati Parking Lot site in the City of David, Jerusalem’s Walls National Park.
Melted Plaster Preserved the Wooden Beams
Efrat Bocher, the excavation director, explained that the beams were relics from a collapsed building destroyed by “the intense fire of the First Temple’s destruction” over 2,600 years ago.
“The beams appear to have served as the roof of an inner courtyard in a building from the First Temple period,” she said.
Bocher noted that the wooden beams were covered with melted plaster from the building’s wall, which spread over the wood. The layer of plaster sealed the beams and preserved them. Most ancient wooden structures cannot be dated effectively or studied because Iron Age wood rarely survives in Israel’s climate. According to the IAA research team, the city’s rebuilders left the ruins in place so that future generations could see the tragedy of the temple’s collapse.
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Carbonized wooden beams uncovered at Jerusalem's City of David, preserved beneath melted plaster since the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC. Their exceptional preservation provides rare material for high-precision radiocarbon dating and tree-ring analysis. (Efrat Bocher/Tel Aviv University)
Growth Rings in the Wood Increase Dating Accuracy
The Weizmann Institute of Science is collaborating with the IAA to study the preserved growth rings on the beams. Dr. Johanna Regev noted that it is rare to find ancient wood with so many preserved growth rings. The large number of rings makes them more useful for research and more accurate dating. Instead of dates within a range of several centuries, Regev said the range could be narrowed down to a single decade. Regev, an expert in radiocarbon dating, explained that“well-preserved wood from a coniferous tree was found in the First Temple destruction layer and exhibits numerous growth rings, making it easier to date with accuracy.”
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Excavation Director Efrat Bocher at the Givati Parking Lot excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, where archaeologists uncovered exceptionally preserved charred wooden beams from the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC. (Koby Harati/City of David)
Jerusalem Residents Wished to Honor the First and Second Temple
Excavation directors Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the IAA and Professor Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University were impressed by the desire of the Jerusalem residents to hold to the memory of King Solomon’s temple. The researchers noted that residents sealed off the entrance to that area after the destruction but kept living in undamaged sections of the building. According to Shalev and Gadot, this choice reflects a strong desire to hold on to the memory of the Temple and of the tragic fire that took such a sacred place. Residents rebuilt nearby instead of clearing the site away. Bocher pointed out that the discovery of the beams “came just before Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning for tragedies across Jewish history, most particularly the destruction and loss of the first and second Temple and Jerusalem.”
Top Image: Archaeologists excavate the destruction layer at the Givati Parking Lot site in Jerusalem's City of David, where exceptionally preserved charred wooden beams from the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC were uncovered. Source: Reut Vilf /City of David
By Ramsey Hardin
References
IAA News, 2026. “Burnt Wooden Beams from the Destruction of Jerusalem during the First Temple Period Discovered in the City of David.” Israel Antiquities Authority. Available at: Burnt Wooden Beams from the Destruction of Jerusalem during the First Temple Period Discovered in the City of David
Nissel, Rebecca L. 2026. “Rare well-preserved Iron Age wood said to offer evidence of First Temple's destruction.” The Times of Israel, July 20, 2026. https://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-well-preserved-iron-age-wood-offers-evidence-of-first-temples-destruction-in-jerusalem/.
Plain, Christopher. 2026. “Archaeologists Unearth “Exceptionally Well-Preserved” 2,600-Year-Old Wooden Beams Burned in the First Temple Fire.” The DeBrief, July 22, 2026. https://thedebrief.org/archaeologists-unearth-exceptionally-well-preserved-2600-year-old-wooden-beams-burned-in-the-first-temple-fire/.
Radley, Dario. 2026. “Burned wooden beams from Jerusalem’s First Temple destruction found preserved after 2,600 years.” Archaeology Online Magazine (July). https://archaeologymag.com/2026/07/wooden-beams-from-jerusalems-first-temple-destruction/.
