Tel Dan Stele – A 3D Window into the “House of David”
Among Tel Dan discoveries, a broken basalt monument found in 1994 has become world‑famous: the Tel Dan Stele.
The inscription, written in Aramaic and dated to the 9th century BCE, records the victory of an Aramean king—most likely Hazael of Damascus—over the kings of Israel and Judah. In a now‑iconic line, it refers to the “House of David,” offering the earliest widely accepted extra‑biblical reference to David’s dynasty and reshaping the debate about the historical David.
For this ArQreation project, the goal was to create a faithful, high‑resolution 3D reconstruction of the preserved stele fragments, suitable both for 3D printing and digital visualization. The model reproduces the overall proportions of the original basalt slab, the fractured edges of the surviving pieces, and the subtle chisel marks that still trace the original carving.
Particular attention was given to the inscription field: the layout of the lines, the depth of the carving, and the broken sections where the text is lost. While the model is not a laser scan, it is carefully referenced against published photographs, offering a visually accurate and didactically useful replica for students, teachers, and enthusiasts of biblical archaeology.
The geometry is optimized for printing in resin or FDM at small to medium scale, with clean topology and sufficient surface detail to catch light and shadow on the inscription. Printed in a stone‑like material, the piece works well as a tactile teaching tool in the classroom or as a display object for those who want a physical connection to one of the most discussed inscriptions in biblical studies.
Extract of the inscription:
Line 8 – mlk yśr’l w[…] King of Israel and
𐤌𐤋𐤊 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 𐤅
Line 9 – byt dwd w[…] House of David and
𐤁𐤉𐤕 𐤃𐤅𐤃 𐤅
