New Hezekian Inscriptions found in Jerusalem?

[Harel13]

Gershon Galil strikes again, with a whole boatload of inscriptions he claims to have discovered and deciphered around different parts of the Siloam Tunnel, which has long been thought to have been carved at the behest of King Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) of Judah, circa the Senacherib Conquest of 701 BCE. In the 19th century, the famous Siloam Inscription was found in the tunnel and is now kept in a museum in Turkey.
Now Galil and Eli Shukrun, a veteran archeologist of the City of David, claim to have found more inscriptions on either end of the tunnel. One of the inscriptions supposedly reads:

"1. Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah
2. Made the pool and the channel
3. On the seventeenth year on the second of the fourth [month]
4. Of King Hezekiah, come the king
5. The water he poured, in the creek did the king walk
6. The water to the pool, and he defeated the Philistines
7. From Ekron to Gaza and placed there his military ambush
8. The Judean army. And he broke the tombstone and crushed the copper snake
9. And remove the idols’ altars and cut down the Ashera tree, Hezekiah is the king
10. He accumulated wealth in all his treasures and in the house of [the tetragram]
11. Much silver and gold, perfumes, and good oil."
​

For more info as well as the source of this English translation: Discovery on Par with Qumran Scrolls: King Hezekiah’s Inscriptions

If it sounds like I'm skeptical and maybe a bit sarcastic, it's because I am. This is perhaps the third or fourth inscription that Galil has claimed to have deciphered over the last year and he has yet to publish a single peer-reviewed essay demonstrating his deciphering and analyzing methods. I watched an interview with the two of them (the reporter, by the way, has an MA in archeology and had worked in the past in the field, before switching to journalism. He knew to ask the tough questions), and they pointed out one of the inscriptions on one of the sides of the tunnel and the cameraman filmed them, but you can't actually see anything, and no one has for over a century. So how legit is this? Unclear. I wish it was true, because it can change a lot of things in the research and understanding of the era, but no one can really know right now, because we don't know how they saw the things they said they saw.

The only bright side is that they said that they have a peer-reviewed book coming out sometime over the upcoming year.

Here's the name of the book: "The Inscriptions of Hezekiah King of Judah, by Gershon Galil and Eli Shukron".

 

[Kenny]

Gershon Galil strikes again, with a whole boatload of inscriptions he claims to have discovered and deciphered around different parts of the Siloam Tunnel, which has long been thought to have been carved at the behest of King Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) of Judah, circa the Senacherib Conquest of 701 BCE. In the 19th century, the famous Siloam Inscription was found in the tunnel and is now kept in a museum in Turkey.
Now Galil and Eli Shukrun, a veteran archeologist of the City of David, claim to have found more inscriptions on either end of the tunnel. One of the inscriptions supposedly reads:

"1. Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah
2. Made the pool and the channel
3. On the seventeenth year on the second of the fourth [month]
4. Of King Hezekiah, come the king
5. The water he poured, in the creek did the king walk
6. The water to the pool, and he defeated the Philistines
7. From Ekron to Gaza and placed there his military ambush
8. The Judean army. And he broke the tombstone and crushed the copper snake
9. And remove the idols’ altars and cut down the Ashera tree, Hezekiah is the king
10. He accumulated wealth in all his treasures and in the house of [the tetragram]
11. Much silver and gold, perfumes, and good oil."
​

For more info as well as the source of this English translation: Discovery on Par with Qumran Scrolls: King Hezekiah’s Inscriptions

If it sounds like I'm skeptical and maybe a bit sarcastic, it's because I am. This is perhaps the third or fourth inscription that Galil has claimed to have deciphered over the last year and he has yet to publish a single peer-reviewed essay demonstrating his deciphering and analyzing methods. I watched an interview with the two of them (the reporter, by the way, has an MA in archeology and had worked in the past in the field, before switching to journalism. He knew to ask the tough questions), and they pointed out one of the inscriptions on one of the sides of the tunnel and the cameraman filmed them, but you can't actually see anything, and no one has for over a century. So how legit is this? Unclear. I wish it was true, because it can change a lot of things in the research and understanding of the era, but no one can really know right now, because we don't know how they saw the things they said they saw.

The only bright side is that they said that they have a peer-reviewed book coming out sometime over the upcoming year.

Here's the name of the book: "The Inscriptions of Hezekiah King of Judah, by Gershon Galil and Eli Shukron".

Do you know of any archaeological discoveries of Hezekiah that are verified?

 

[Harel13]

Do you know of any archaeological discoveries of Hezekiah that are verified?

What do you mean? That are widely accepted in the field to be connected to Hezekiah?

 

[Kenny]

What do you mean? That are widely accepted in the field to be connected to Hezekiah?

Yes... in other words as you pointed out in this piece, not one that still leaves room for doubt but rather one that confirms without a doubt.

 

[Harel13]

Yes... in other words as you pointed out in this piece, not one that still leaves room for doubt but rather one that confirms without a doubt.

As far as I know, everyone is in agreement that a bulla created by Hezekiah's seal was found. See King Hezekiah bulla - Wikipedia.
And images here.
So that Hezekiah was a real king is not disputed.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

If it sounds like I'm skeptical and maybe a bit sarcastic, it's because I am. This is perhaps the third or fourth inscription that Galil has claimed to have deciphered over the last year and he has yet to publish a single peer-reviewed essay demonstrating his deciphering and analyzing methods.

Next time, don't bury the lead.

 

[Harel13]

In the wake of Galil's latest escapade, a number of researchers in the field have issued a statement on this type of unacademic publishing of discoveries:

Public statement on Publication of Archaeological Finds – גילוי דעת על פרסום ממצאים ארכיאולוגים

Excerpt:

"Occasionally, and up until recent days, archaeological finds and discoveries (that are at times presented as revolutionary and game changers in the history of the Land of Israel) have been published in the popular press and on social media, prior to peer review, and to the full presentation, with high quality illustrations, of these finds in scientific publications, even long after the initial public notification.​

As is clear to anyone dealing with science and research, one of the foundations of all research and discovery is that results must go through a process of peer review prior to publication, to check for quality, suggest improvements and comments, and in some cases, reject a suggestion. Without this process, research is conducted without proper checks and balances. In addition, research colleagues (in this case archaeologists and historians) cannot properly ascertain, and if need be disagree, with these claims.​

We cannot but stress that until the publication of finds or research results in a scientific and peer-reviewed publication, any claim made should be related to as unfounded, and is also unworthy of publication in the popular press."​

It also made the news:
Bible scholar’s sensational Hezekiah inscription claims prompt researchers’ outcry

Archaeologists demand more scrutiny of sensationalized discoveries in Israel