#Jerusalem site reveals ancient Judean tax centre

“#Jerusalem site reveals ancient Judean tax centre”

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Seal impressions unveiled in Jerusalem this week offer rare insight about the administration of the ancient Kingdom of Judah centred in Jerusalem and the collection of taxes

Seal impressions dating back 2,700 years were unveiled in Jerusalem this week offering rare new details about the administration in the ancient Kingdom of Judah, including tax collection.

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The kingdom, which lasted from around from around 940 to 586 BC before being destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, was centred in Jerusalem.

A few kilometres from the Old City, in the modern day west Jerusalem neighbourhood of Arona, excavators from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered the remains of a compound with parts of its ancient ashlar walls still visible.

The material found at the site—a few hundred metres from the US embassy—includes more than 120 broken clay jar handles bearing seal impressions that show the Hebrew word “lamelekh”, meaning “belonging to the king”.

Other seals have the Hebrew names of people presumed to have been officials in the kingdom, or wealthy men key to the economy, according Neria Sapir, excavation director for the IAA.

The IAA described the find as “one of the largest and most important collections of seal impressions uncovered in Israel”.

Judean kingdom taxes were collected in the form of agricultural goods, and the site likely “served as a concentration and storage facility for agricultural produce”, Sapir said.

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div data-src=”https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/2020/neriasapirex.jpg” data-sub-html=”Neria Sapir, excavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority, says the find is “one of the largest and most important collections of seal impressions uncovered in Israel”” data-thumb=”https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2020/neriasapirex.jpg”>

Neria Sapir, excavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority, says the find is “one of the largest and most important collections of seal impressions uncovered in Israel”

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