Category: Jerusalem

The Destruction of the Temple Mount continues

It is feared that the destruction of the Temple Mount by Muslims continues. It has been observed that work is taking place to the east of the Dome of the Rock, where the Court of the Priests and the Altar were located. According to this report:

“The Waqf works are constant, we see tractors going to and fro carrying earth. The work is taking place near the Dome of the Rock, exactly in the place between where our Holy Temple’s courtyard and the Altar used to stand. The Waqf claims they are doing pavement work there, or so they advertise in the news sites, but in practice they surrounded themselves in white burlap and we see there is scaffolding. I suppose that for paving works there should be no need for scaffolding.”

The bedrock is only a few feet below the pavement and the layers between it and the pavement could easily be destroyed. On a visit to the Temple Mount last year, we observed repairs to pavement north of the Dome of the Rock and it was clear that no digging with tractors was involved:

Hopefully some more information will become available soon.

Bible Lands Expedition (BLE) tour


Another BLE Bible Lands Expedition study tour is planned for October 2010, God willing. Dr. Steve Collins and myself will be leading the tour. This is an exciting adventure travelling through Jordan and Israel with the likely outcome that you’ll never read your Bible in the same way again! We do not take more than one bus full, so you really get to know each other well. There are a few places left, so have a look at the website and tour overview!

“Solomonic Wall” found in Jerusalem

The confusion in the reporting on this wall was summed up in one sentence by Neil Silberman: “Dr. Eilat Mazar is at it again– running to the press before properly submitting her finds to serious archaeological scrutiny.” This has been my personal experience going back to 1986.

I do believe that she is a good archaeologist, but this running to the press, without giving scientific reasons for her conclusions is totally unacceptable. People are no longer prepared to believe statements that are not backed up with facts. It gives Biblical Archaeology a bad name.

Barnea Levi Selavan of the Foundation Stone organisation, which, together with Ateret haCohanim, has the aim of purchasing and restoring “ancient homes in the Old City which are occupied by young and idealistic yeshiva families and students who have breathed new life into the heart of Yerushalayim”, wrote this to me:

“Eilat explained to the press that she reached bedrock, she dug under the floor and found 10th century pottery in the fill under the floors. most media reports did not quote this. she said no evidence of Canaanite structure earlier here. Typology of pottery distinctively Israelite. Original floor preserved in two places.”

So, all that was done, as I already presumed, was digging down deeper in previously excavated areas and finding 10th century material. How that fill relates to the wall segments is still unclear.

Solomon’s Temple

In November last year, I gave some lectures at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS).

An abstract of my lecture on Solomon’s Temple has been put on their website. You can read it here.

Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem’s Sacred Esplanade

A new book on the Temple Mount was published today in Jerusalem. It has been widely reported, for example here, here, here and elsewhere. Various Jewish, Muslim and Christian authors discuss the meaning of the Temple Mount, called in this book the “Sacred Esplanade”. The book is a collection of essays by renowned scholars on the history, archaeology, aesthetics and politics of the place that Jews revere as the location of their two ancient temples, and that now houses the Al Aksa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. The aim was to “to try to dispel insensitivity born of ignorance.”

Book

According to Miriam Feinberg Vamosh this aim was not achieved: “Despite their best efforts to produce an ecumenical book, the editors of this beautiful volume on the Temple Mount could not induce their Jewish, Christian and Muslim authors to agree on a single narrative, a fact that only confirms the complex and deeply held variety of traditions associated with the site.”

The wanton ignorance of archaeological evidence of the ancient temples, despite the many discoveries which prove that a Jewish Temple once graced the Temple Mount, has sadly led many Palestinians to deny any real Jewish attachment or claim to the plateau.

Nevertheless, I look forward to reading this book.

Source: Joe Lauer

Coins from ancient Jewish revolt found near Temple Mount on display

AP reported that an interesting collection of coins, which was found below the Herodian street along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, is on display at the Davidson Centre. One coin, with a date palm portrayed on it, dates from one year before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

A peek into excavations near the Temple Mount

Just over a week ago I led a tour through the Western Wall tunnels and saw some very deep excavations between the foundations of buildings which date from the Mamluk period (14th-15th Century AD). Excavations are continuing until bedrock is reached. Several mikva’ot (Jewish ritual baths) from the Second Temple period were observed – an indication that Jerusalem was indeed Jewish at the time. Here is a picture I took of one of the deepest excavation pits:

WWHFdig

Joe Lauer sent me this report, showing that not everybody is happy with the excavations. The title of the article is misleading, as no excavations are conducted inside the Temple Mount. The Muslim claim that tunnels are dug within the Temple Mount are not true. The whole area lies to the west of the Temple Mount. An invitation to tour the area was turned down by Muslims. How can one reach understanding when dialogue is refused?

New Model of the Second Temple in Jerusalem

A model of the Second Temple has been placed on the roof top of the Aish haTorah Yeshiva building overlooking the Temple Mount. It appears to have been modeled on the Holyland model of the Second Temple, built in the 1960’s. This latter model was built at a scale of 1:50, so the new model with its scale of 1:60 is slightly larger. This report includes a video showing how the 1.2 tonne model was lifted into its place.

The most dramatic aspect of the model is its location, just 300 yards from where the original Temple stood. Paradoxically, this has turned out to be a drawback, as, in order to allow ease of access, the model Temple faces west instead of east. Although this is hugely disorienting, the model with its hydraulic system, which allows the interior of the Holy of Holies to be seen, provides another rich experience for lovers of Jerusalem.
model
Source: Joe Lauer

Temple Mount Mikveh

Zachi Zweig, an archaeologist who is involved with the Temple Mount Sifting project, kindly send me the paper [in Hebrew], which he gave at the recent conference on the Temple Mount at the Bar-Ilan University. I commented on this find in an earlier post. Here is an abstract:

“Hamilton describes the discovery of a plastered cistern that was excavated below the easternmost door of the present El Aksa mosque, north of Cistern 9 [according to Warren’s numeration – see map]. The descent to [the cistern] was from west to east by means of a flight of steps, with the bottom step some 3 m. [10 feet] below the present floor of the mosque. The remains of some five steps were discerned, which were built against a plastered wall, which was about 90 cm wide [3 feet].

Unfortunately, Hamilton did not publish additional details – not one picture or plan. However, in the Mandatory Archives there was a photograph of the five steps, which descend to the opening of the cistern. The top of the steps is located some 1.50 – 2 m. [6-7.5 feet] below the present surface and to the south of it and adjacent to it, although at a little distance, there is a thick wall. This is most likely the same cistern. The steps appear to have been cut out of the rock and this points to the fact that the level of the top of the rock in this location is at about 1.50 m. [6 feet] below the level of the present pavement.”

The exit of the cistern is located deep below the level of the floor of the mosque. Hamilton dated it to the late Roman period. However, as the remains of a dividing wall can be discerned, Zachi concluded that it could have been a mikveh (Jewish ritual bath), see picture below:

It is located a little to the east of the underground passage which leads up from the Double Gate to the Temple Mount. Ronnie Reich has identified Cistern 6 and 36 as mikva’ot, but these are located in the original Square Temple Mount. These could have been added in the Second Temple period, as they are located close to the surface and no First Temple period mikva’ot are known.

This latest one, however, is located much lower down and in the Hasmonean extension of the Temple Mount and may therefore have been one of the earliest mikva’ot in Jerusalem:
Worshipers in the Hasmonean period, who had not purified themselves before going to the Temple Mount, perhaps had the opportunity to do so in this mikveh, if it was a mikveh indeed.

First Temple Period Hebrew Seal found

It is always exciting when an Hebrew seal of the 7th Century B.C. is found, as announced today here. In an excavation 100 m west of the Western Wall an impressive seal was found. It shows a Hebrew archer in Assyrian style military outfit and his name, Hagab, engraved in ancient Hebrew script next to him. At least he doesn’t look like a grasshopper, which the Hebrew meaning of this name is. The name appears in reverse, so that it would come out right, when impressed in clay.

It was stated that this name of Hagab also appears in the Bible, namely in Ezra 2.46. That is where the comparison ends, of course, for this Hagab was one of the Nethinim, temple servants. Temple servants were not usually dressed in warrior’s suits.

The seal was found in an excavation, located some 100 m. from the Western Wall. This wall, of course, did not exist at the end of the First Temple period. The Western wall at the end of the First Temple period was located at least 25 m further to the east. That wall was part of the 500 cubit square Temple Mount, which was probably built a century earlier by King Hezekiah.