Posted on 05/03/2004 6:25:58 PM PDT by flevit
Biblical accounts of the construction of an ancient underground tunnel below Jerusalem have been verified by dating the material lining its walls.
The books of Kings and Chronicles report that the Siloam tunnel was built by King Hezekiah, ruler of Judea 2700 years ago. Its aim was to provide a secret source of drinking water should the city face a siege by Assyrian assailants. Even today, the tunnel delivers water from the Gihon Spring to the Siloam Pool, 500 metres away.
Some scholars have questioned the biblical account, suggesting that the tunnel, which is up to 30 metres below ground, was built 500 or so years later. But a team led by Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has now settled the argument by radio-dating the tunnel's lining.
Frumkin says the tunnel, just 60 centimetres wide and between one and five metres in height, is the first biblical structure dating from the Iron Age to be authenticated.
Many similar sites are impossible to visit and take samples from, he told New Scientist, either because they are so deteriorated or for religious and political reasons.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Ironic, isn't it? Many who have believed this all to be true all along don't believe in radio dating.
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