THE SITES OF MORDOT ARNONA AND ARMON HANATZIV ON THE SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF JERUSALEM: AN ALTERNATIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Remains of two monumental structures have recently been unearthed on the ridge of the British Mandatory Government House on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem – Mordot Arnona and Armon HaNatziv. Here I suggest my interpretation of the nature and date of the sites – different from the ones given by the excavators. In the case of Mordot Arnona, I propose a contrasting order of construction periods and in the case of Armon HaNatziv a divergent location for the original building and an alternative interpretation for the circumstances of its demise. I suggest that the two buildings were constructed in the first half of the 7^th century BCE, the days of King Manasseh, and that they were dismantled and buried in the late 7^th century, possibly in relation to actions taken by King Josiah (2 Kings 23). I also propose a somewhat similar history for Ramat Rahel.