This coming Sunday is the 9th of Av, the day on which Jews all over the world mourn the loss of Jerusalem and the Temple twice – once at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BCE and again at the hands of the Romans 500 years later.
Just this week, archaeologists announced the discovery of a section of Jerusalem’s city wall that was mostly destroyed by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE. In addition to the wall, the archaeologists uncovered the ruins of houses and multiple artifacts that offer a glimpse into the daily life of Jerusalem when the wall was still standing and after its fall in 586 BCE: fragments of pots, pans and other vessels, seal impressions, some of them carrying inscriptions – for example, “lamelech” (to the king), which was usually featured on jars used for tax collection.