The City of David (Hebrew: עיר דוד, romanized: ʿĪr Davīd), known locally mostly as Wadi Hilweh (Arabic: وادي حلوة),[1] is the name given to an archaeological site considered by most scholars to be the original settlement core of Jerusalem during the Bronze and Iron Ages.

The site is also home to the Siloam Tunnel, which, according to a common hypothesis, was built by Hezekiah during the late 8th century BCE in preparation for an Assyrian siege.

[15] The area's majority Palestinian Arab residents refer to it as Wadi Hilweh, before it was renamed by Israeli authorities as the City of David after 1967, a name which was first applied to the site by French archaeologist Raymond Weill in 1913.

[16][17] Rannfrid Thelle wrote that the title "City of David" favors the Jewish national agenda and appeals to its Christian supporters.

[21][22] The City of David was the ancient epicenter of Jerusalem and whose boundaries stretched from the Temple Mount in the north,[22] thence southward to the Pool of Siloam,[22] including the area marking the Kidron brook in the east and the adjacent dale in the west.

[22] The beginning of its settlement dates back to the Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age, largely built-up around the natural spring, although not known then by the name City of David.

[27][28] One of the stated objectives of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) since its establishment in 1865 was to search for the true location of the biblical "City of David" and to report on its findings.

More recent excavations (2000–2008) were conducted by R. Reich and E. Shukron on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and where they detailed Iron Age II findings in a rock-cut pool near the Gihon spring.

[44] A view held by Finkelstein, Koch & Lipschits (2011) that the City of David is to be placed on the Temple Mount has largely been rejected by scholars of historical geography.

[55] In 2012–2013, two teams of archaeologists conducted surveys of the area on behalf of the IAA; one led by Joseph (Joe) Uzziel,[56] and the other by Yuval Gadot.

[59] A four-year project started in 2017, called "Setting the Clock in the City of David" and led by Yuval Gadot, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University together with Elisabetta Boaretto (Weizmann Institute of Science), plus two Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists, Joe Uziel and Doron Ben Ami, intends to carbon-14 date sites in Jerusalem.

An at least 70-metre long, 30-metre wide and 9-metre deep moat, separating the Southeastern Ridge from the Ophel and the top of the Temple Mount, was identified in 2023 in the Givati parking lot dig, with an additional segment to the east discovered by Kathleen Kenyon in the 1960s and now understood as part of the same defensive ditch.

[66] After significantly modifying Jerusalem's topography for centuries, the moat disappeared again in the Late Hellenistic period, when it was backfilled as part of construction activities.

The ancient water systems connected to the Gihon Spring[49] include natural, masonry-built, and rock-cut structures, such as On the eastern slope of the ridge, towards the Qidron Valley: Outside the walls to the south: The Giv'ati Parking Lot excavations extend over an area of about 5 dunams (1.2 acres).

[74] Here archaeologists claim to have found the remains of the Acra,[75] a fortress built by Antiochus Epiphanes to subdue those Jerusalemites who were opposed to Hellenisation.

[80] In 2024, several researchers published a number of radiocarbon tests conducted in five different parts of the City of David which they argue provide evidence for the existence of an urban settlement in Jerusalem all through the 12th–10th centuries BCE.

[82] The 2005 discovery by archaeologist Eilat Mazar of a Large Stone Structure, which she dated to the tenth century BCE, would be evidence of buildings in Jerusalem of a size appropriate to the capital of a centralized kingdom at that time.

Mazar's date is supported by 10th century imported luxury goods found within the Large Stone Structure, including two Phoenician-style ivory inlays once attached to iron objects.

[84] A quantity of luxury round, carinated bowls with red slip and hand burnishing support both the tenth century date and a sophisticated, urban lifestyle.

[85] A large section of a "delicate and elegant" black-on-red jug, also found in the structure, is of a kind dated to the second half of the tenth century BCE.

"[50] Nevertheless, subsequent excavations at Givati and other sites have shown that 9th century Jerusalem "included an acropolis to the north and a city on the lower, southeastern, ridge with a barrier separating the two.

[95] These are large, elaborate tombs of skilfully cut into the stone face of the eastern slope, such as could only have been built by the highest-ranking members of a wealthy society.

[95] Although only three partial inscriptions survive, the paleography makes the dating certain[95] and they suffice for most archaeologists to identify one tomb with the Biblical Shebna, steward and treasurer of King Hezekiah.

King Hezekiah secured the city's water supply against siege by employing his men to dig a 533 metres (1,749 ft) conduit deep within the meleke limestone bedrock and, in so doing, to divert the waters of the Gihon Spring to a place on the west side of the City of David,[98] and covering over all signs of the source of the spring and the fortifications that had surrounded it in earlier periods.

[105] Major archaeological finds include the Pool of Siloam, and the monumental stepped road built by Pilate and drained by an impressive channel.

Active Roman-era excavations are also underway at the Givati Parking Lot dig site,[106][9] where the remains of a palace attributed to Queen Helena of Adiabene were discovered in 2007.

[107] The Byzantine-period mansion called the "Eusebius" house stood in the area now underneath the visitor's center, atop the central part of E. Mazar's Large Stone Structure.

[108][109] During the excavation of the area adjacent to the west, the so-called Givati Parking Lot dig, many Byzantine-period finds were made, including a hoard of 264 gold coins from the time of Emperor Heraclius (7th century CE).

[106] In 2018, a leaked report by the European Union cited the area as one being developed for tourism to justify Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, and insist on Jewish heritage at the expense of its Palestinian context.

[11] In a 2015 report on Israeli archaeology, the National Academy of Sciences criticized the political use of archeology and the extensive cooperation between Elad and the Nature and Parks Authority.