Biblical city where King David sought refuge ‘has been found by archaeologists’
Ruins unearthed in Israel could be an ancient settlement mentioned in stories of King David after he fled the kingdom of Israel.
King David - who supposedly slew Goliath - is also the ancestor of Jesus, who the Bible describes as ‘son of David’.
Researchers with the Israel Antiquities Authority excavated the site of Khirbet Al-Rai - which they now believe are the remnants of Ziklag.
In the Bible, King David fled to Ziklag to escape Israel and its King Saul, and lived among the Philistines (who are believed to have come from the Mediterranean).
Yosef Garfinkel, head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University said, ‘The name Ziklag is unusual in the lexicon of names in the Land of Israel, since it is not local Canaanite-Semitic.
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‘It is a Philistine name, given to the town by an alien population of immigrants from the Aegean.’
Investigations at Khirbet Al-Rai found large stone structures and vessels dating to between the 12th and 11th centuries BC.
Pottery vessels were found in rooms, which were believed to be destroyed in an ‘intense fire’, the researchers said.