Hi Lee

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Thanos5150
So, we have at least one source that predates the Romans alluding to massive stone construction at what we assume to be Baalbek, known in the Bible as "Balaath" according to some scholars, and archeology(sic) that confirms the existence of pre-Roman monumental architecture under Roman foundations.

It is clear from thread title that one of your points is Baalbeek is older than Roman. I think that is established.

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Thanos5150
Given very similar massive megaliths are found at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, also attributed to Solomon, it seems very likely they are reffering (sic) specifically to Baalbek. As far as the dating of the writing of the Book of Kings, scholars apparently agree at the very least that it dates to the 6th century BC, i.e. a few centuries before the site was occupied by the Romans and roughly 500yrs before the building for the Temple of Jupiter.

It is not absolutely clear that you are attempting to reconstruct the history of the 'who' and 'when' of the site.
It seems however that you are proposing :... pre bronze age ancient tell> Solomon > Romans

What T'Bird was attempting to suggest was who the heck was Solomon? Was he real and was he an Israelite king?

As you likely know the basis for the 6C attribution to book of Kings is that the very little if at all archaeologically attested Solomon and David were not written about (although perhaps oral tradition) until after Babylonian captivity. In the process incorporating other Arabic Assyrian Babylonian folklore myths like Gilgamesh to come up with the Noah story etc.

Moreover the biblical timeframes for said Kings (father and Son) circa 12C BCE predate the current place we/internationally recognise as Jerusalem Israel.

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Thanos5150
Of note here as well is that the neolithic site Tell Baalbek in which the complex is located dates as far back as c. 8,000BC. According to recent excavations (quoting Lohmann I presume, but again for clarity):

REFLECTIONS ON THE EARLY BRONZE AGE IV IN LEBANON

I do not wish to subscribe to academia. I suspect the reference to 8000BC is contained in the linked pdf.
Could you breiefly expound the basis of that dating herein. Please.

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Thanos5150
Personally, I do not believe Solomon built the foundations of either site, but rather built on top of sites known to be considered sacred long before.

I recently read an interesting book. I found from link in History GHMB section.
Egypt knew no Pharoahs nor Israelites - Azzrat Ezzai

This is a native Egyptians thesis on the origins of the Israelites predominately from an Arabic scholarly perspective. It is not in anyway "religious" nor did I find it biased. I make no endorsement other than it is extremely interesting if not compelling and recommend it to all interested in ancient history.

The kindle is available for $1 and apparently you can view it for free.

Lee, in view of your passionate interest and project in reconstructing the Mesopotamian connection to Egypt and Levant I reckon it would be invaluable to see the non Westernised perspective on the matter. It may have been someone called or know mythically as Solomon but who was he?

Cheers

Edit : To add: The title of the book is poor and misleading. It identifies the Arabic version of origin of Israelites and casts doubt over the use of the Hellenised (Ptolemy) version of Egyptian kings , referred to as Pharaoh after that timeframe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12-Apr-18 01:08 by Corpuscles.