Friday, December 20 | 6:30pm | Little Theater

No Registration Required

Join us for an AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) Toledo Society lecture: Ancient Judah in the Time of King David. Presented by Dr. Michael Pytlik, Professor of Jewish Studies at Oakland University (Rochester, MI).

This presentation will focus on the last 13 years of archaeological research in Israel related to the early Judean kingdom at about 1,000 BCE, corresponding to the time of David. New research has revealed the emergence of the kingdom, due to the discovery of several important sites excavated by Oakland University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The interpretations are based on archaeological, historical, linguistic and cultural factors, many of which will be presented. The excavations at a site called Khirbet Qeiyafa, identified as the Biblical site of Sha'arayim will be discussed, including how the ancient site was recovered, why the site was determined to be Judean and not Philistine, and why we associate it with the kingdom under David. Numerous artifacts, including the oldest pro-Hebrew inscription thus far found will be discussed.