Mount Zion in the Old and New Testaments

In the Old Testament, Mount Zion is referred to as the City of David, a low hill to the east of the hill which is now known as the traditional Mount Zion. Our excavations are located on the southern summit of the traditional Mount Zion. This part of the city was included within fortification walls and built up with houses at the time of King Hezekiah, and later destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. At the time of Jesus, traditional Mount Zion was the Upper City of Jerusalem, where the priests and the aristocrats lived, and where Pontius Pilate had his residence. Most of Jesus` activities were in the Lower City, near the Siloam Pool, in the area of the Temple Mount, and the New City of Bezetha. The Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 CE) was one of those who thought that traditional Mount Zion was the same as the Biblical Mount Zion.