The Remains of the Kingdom of Solomon

Jerusalem in the 900s BCE was a tiny settlement, one of perhaps two dozen small pastoral villages that altogether totaled two or three thousand inhabitants. We have not found archaeological evidence of a large religiously unified civilization with an income of tens of thousands of pounds of gold. More consequently, archaeology does not conclusively support the existence of a unified kingdom of Israelites ever. To some biblical literalists, and just as importantly, to some modern expansionists who use the geography described in the Old Testament to support territorial claims, the lack of archaeological excavations is quite a big deal.