House of Ahiel

View looking southwest at the "House of Ahiel."  This house is resting on the modern platform just to the left-center of the image.  The name is based upon an inscribed potsherd (ostracon) that was found in it.

This house was built into the massive Stepped-Stone Structure in the early 10th century BC—the days of the United Monarchy of David and Solomon!  It was remodeled numerous times and was destroyed when the Babylonians sacked the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

In the lower right of the picture,  the carved stone with a hole in the center of it was the covering of a toilet!  The residents of the House of Ahiel must have been part of the elite of Jerusalem to have such a luxury!

Above and to the left of the House of Ahiel is a Tower from the Maccabean Period (ca. 160–76 BC) that was built into the wall the Nehemiah had constructed (ca. 445 BC).

To view a model of the House of Ahiel see here.

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For a very helpful summary article describing this area, please see Cahill, Jane M. “Jerusalem in David and Solomon's Time.” Biblical Archaeology Review 30 (2004): 20–31, 62–63.