Location: 

    The Givati Parking Lot is located on the western slope of the City of David, Jerusalem.  It is settled in the Central Valley of Jerusalem in between the Temple Mount and the Southwestern Hill (Mount Zion); in which, there is a great view of the Kidron Valley, the Tyropoeon Valley and the Valley of Hinnom. To the east of the Givati Parking Lot, the City of David’s eastern slope, ridge and Gihon Spring can be located in less than a quarter of a kilometer walking distance from the Givati Parking Lot excavation.  

Geology:

     Within the area of Jerusalem, there is a tectonic fault zone between two ridges in the Central Judean Mountain area, spanning from east to west. Around the area of the City of David, geologic types include limestone, dolomite and chalk, where there are calcareous rock formations, which create soil types near the Jerusalem area (e.g., Rendzina and Terra Rosa).  Within the soils found around Jerusalem, one can infer that ancient potters used these clays to produce pottery within the City of David (Ben-Shlomo and Mommsen 2017: 352). 

Contributor: Chaundra Anderson, June 2nd 2021