Israeli archaelogist has found King David's citadel!

Jerusalem (AP) - Last Thursday, the 1st of May 2014, Eli Shukron, an archeologist formerly with Israel's Antiquities Authority, walks in the City of David archaeological site near Jerusalem's Old City.

Shukron says he believes there is strong evidence that it is the legendary citadel captured by King David in his conquest of Jerusalem, rekindling a longstanding academic and political debate about using the Bible as a field guide to identifying ancient ruins. He used the Bible as a field guide to identifying ancient ruins.

The claim by Eli Shukron has run into criticism.

"This is the citadel of King David, this is the Citadel of Zion and this is what King David took from the Jebusites", said Shukron. "The whole site we can compare to the Bible perfectly".

The "House of David" was found in an archaeological site in northern Israel.

Shukron's dig, which began in 1995, uncovered a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide. Pottery shards helped date the fortification walls to be 3.800 years old. The fortification surrounded a water spring and is thought to have protected the ancient city's water source.

The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers.

The biblical account names it the "Citadel of David" and the "Citadel of Zion".

Respected Israeli archaeologists say recent finds match the biblical account more than naysayers claim.

Shukron said he drew his conclusions after nearly two decades exploring the ancient city.

"I know every little thing in the City of David. I didn't see in any other place such a huge fortification as this", said Shukron.

"We open the Bible and we see how the archaeology and the Bible actually come together in this place", said Doron Spielman, vice president of the nonprofit Elad Foundation.