A British maritime archaeologist claims that he has discovered proof of the elusive biblical King Solomon and his purported maritime empire that was formed through a political alliance with the ancient Phoenicians who ruled in present-day Lebanon.
Though much is written in the Bible about King Solomon, and he is described as a powerful monarch with great wealth and wisdom who built the First Temple of Jerusalem, no direct archaeological evidence of his reign has been uncovered. Consequently, many historians and archaeologists have concluded that Solomon was either a leader of a minor chiefdom or even an idealized myth.
However, according to ALL ISRAEL NEWS, Dr. Sean Kingsley is challenging this narrative with his new findings, arguing that the biblical account of Solomon is largely accurate. While archaeologists traditionally search for evidence of Solomon in Israel, Kingsley adopted an alternative investigation, focusing on finding evidence of the Mediterranean empire that Solomon, according to the Bible, built through his alliance with the Phoenician king, Hiram.
“I’ve spread a very wide net. That kind of maritime study has never been done before,” Kingsley told the Guardian.
On the surface, Kingsley appears as an unlikely candidate for discovering the biblical Solomon. Instead of digging in the soil of the Holy Land, Kingsley has spent the past three decades exploring over 350 shipwrecks.
Kingsley explained the rationale behind his alternative investigation.
“For 100 years, archaeologists have scrutinized Jerusalem’s holy soils, the most excavated city in the world. Nothing definitive fits the book of Kings’ and Chronicles’ epic accounts of Solomon’s palace and temple. By exploring traces of ports, warehouses, industry and shipwrecks, new evidence shakes up the quest for truth,” said Kingsley.
Kingsley’s quest for finding evidence of King Solomon’s existence brought him to Spain, far away from the Holy Land. Kingsley argues that he discovered “a Phoenician coast” in the Western Mediterranean, consisting of several sites connected to trade and mining, including Rio Tinto in Spain.
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SOURCE: Assist News Service, Michael Ireland
