Ramat Rachel Excavation Site (Jerusalem)

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Archaeological findings

Benjamin Mazar and Moshe Stekelis conducted the first scientific excavations at the site, known as Khirbet es-Sallah in Arabic, in 1930-1931. Yohanan Aharoni conducted a more thorough series of digs from 1959-1962, and tentatively identified it with biblical Beit Hakerem ("house of the vineyard"; Jeremiah 6:1). Yigael Yadin suggested that the palace excavated by Aharoni dated to the reign of Athaliah, and he identified it with the "House of Baal" recorded in 2 Kings 11:18.

One of many important artifacts are LMLK seal impressions found on broken jar handles,[3] most of which bear enigmatic words that continue to puzzle researchers. Gabriel Barkay, who worked at the site in 1984, claims that the ancient name of the site may have been MMST, one of the four mysterious words. Supporting Barkay is a potsherd found by Aharoni that may contain a painted depiction of Hezekiah, the king reigning during the period these jars were manufactured. However, more handles with HBRN (Hebron) and ZYF (Ziph) inscriptions have been found at Ramat Rahel than MMST.

Renewed excavations began in 2004 under the direction of Oded Lipschits and Manfred Oeming. According to Lipschits, the site may have been known as Gerut Kimham ("House of Chimham") per Jeremiah 41:17.[6] In 2006 it was announced that Ramat Rachel had been a "major royal site".