While a lot of dated literature has spoken about the beauty of royal gardens that have existed in the Middle East, not many of them have been found until now. A team of researchers from both the Tel Aviv University and Heidelberg University have discovered an ancient royal garden in the area known as Ramat Rachel which is in Jerusalem, for which a full scale excavation is being conducted by researchers at this time.

According to a professor and a graduate student from the Department of Archaeology at the Tel Aviv University, this rare find will provide the team with rare archaeological knowledge about ancient garden that have existed in the Middle East and about which very little is known so far.And while this discovery, which dates back as far as 7th Century B.C.E, has been reported in Quadmoniot (the Israel Exploration Society’s journal), another report will be published in Near Eastern Archaeology.

In their findings so far, these gardens have been considered as a symbol of power as the garden that surrounded the palace was lush with greenery and very large, considering the surrounding bare areas. What added to this ‘status symbol’ was the fact that the discovered garden was the most visible (and prominent) feature in Ramat Rachel from all directions.

While the irrigation system is of particular interest to the researchers, they also conclude that most of the trees and plants would have come from all parts of the empire. The purpose of the lush greenery in the gardens indicate that it might have been a place where one could connect with nature while also serving a spiritual function as being a place of tranquility and peace.

And while their initial findings indicate the presence of several empires that ruled Israel at one time, the researchers are excited about this particular dig as it has no parallels, and requires a completely new method by which researchers can excavate gardens.