(An excerpt from my term paper for the Site I was able to help excavate)
In essence, the excavation or “project” at Khirbet Qeiyafa contributes to a better understanding to the probable time of King David (or early 10th century BCE); this most recent curiosity for determining the time of King David began with the debate concerning the establishment of a kingdom in Biblical Judah. Khirbet Qeiyafa has become paramount in this debate because of its geo-political location during said time. Up in the Judean Hills sits Khirbet Qeiyafa (southwest of Jerusalem), on such a summit which borders the Ellah Valley (north). As noted, this hill and valley region became an important geo-political and strategic location in the biblical Kingdom of Judah; this was primarily due to the facts that it laid on the main road from Philistia and Coastal Plain to Jerusalem and the surrounding hill country. It is on this road that the now infamous biblical story of the battle between David and Goliath likely took place.
David and Solomon were traditional viewed as historical rulers of an urbanized state-level society of a united monarch in present day Israel during the early 10th century BCE; however, others claim this level of social development was only reached at the very end of the 8th century BCE (approx. 300 years later). Debate(s) of this nature still continue to this day despite strong evidence supporting the early 10th century BCE theory. To elaborate, during the recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, the early Judean city, which was dated by Carbon 14 dating methods, indicative of well planned fortified cities was present as early as the late 11th/early 10th centuries BCE was unearthed. Originally, “the city” was constructed directly on and practically of limestone bedrock, included an approx area of 7 acres, contained a significant amount of rare and unique pottery, and was surrounded by massive fortification walls constructed from megalithic stones. Currently, six seasons of excavation were carried out at Khirbet Qeiyafa during the summers of 2007-2012 by Hebrew University.
Far exceeding its original implications for archaeology, history, and biblical studies, these fortifications at Khirbet Qeiyafa & its urban planning clearly indicate a centralized authority in Judah at this time; the time of King David. Because of the preliminary dig reports for the 2010 and 2011 seasons at Khirbet Qeiyafa, the Israel Antiquities Authority stated: “The excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa clearly reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in the late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in the late eighth century BCE or at some other later date.” However, while, this new collection of data has brought support to the 10th century theory, it was also surprised many in the academic community, and has called for the debate to continue by those more minimalisticly minded.