Trash Worth Digging Through: The Dump on the Temple Mount

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The photo above is a view of the Temple Mount (Harem esh-Sharif) from the east.  The Dome of the Rock sits in the center and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the gray-domed building on the left.  The new mosque was constructed in the area popularly known as "Solomon's Stables," underneath the plaza labeled "A" on the photo.  The new entrance to the new mosque is labeled "B", and controversial piles of debris is located just below the area labeled "C".

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This is not the first time that this has been in the news, but recently the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the material removed during the construction in the area popularly known as "Solomon's Stables" may not be hauled away from the site.  Previously the earth (and the artifacts contained in it) have been dumped on the east side of the Mount of Olives and in the Kidron Valley.  It is estimated that 12,000-15,000 tons of earth were removed from underneath the plaza surface of the Temple Mount.  There was no archaeological supervision of the process.

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This dump could be the most interesting pile of debris in the world, given its location and the history of the Temple Mount.  Antiquities authorities have found artifacts (from the material removed previously) dating from the Iron Age, Herodian era, as well as later periods.  We've heard rumors (from good sources) of very remarkable vessels being found in the debris.  These illegal diggings provide a likely background for the discovery of the Joash Inscription, if the tablet is authentic.

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Here are two more photos that a friend took recently.  One shows him standing in the midst of some of the rubble next to a fragment of a marble column.  The second is a close-up of that same piece.  It's quite difficult, if not impossible, to date such a stone without a context.  Unfortunately, the context was destroyed when this earth was removed by bulldozers and heavy machinery.  Thanks to Prof. Daniel Morrell of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College for sharing these photos.  For a much more detailed report of artifacts found in the rubble removed from the Temple Mount in 1999-2000, with numerous photographs, see this article by Zachi Zweig at har-habayit.org.

Related Articles

Court temporarily halts removal of soil from Temple Mount (Haaretz)

Archaeologists decry Wakf 'renovation' (JPost)

The Temple Mount Archaeological Destruction (Har-Habayat.com) [Possibly out of service] A website devoted to revealing the damage done from the construction program and the government's indifference.  Includes an article on "What can we can learn from this destructive dig," which gives a detailed description of the artifacts found in rubble removed in 1999 and 2000.  The dozens of photographs alone make this worth visiting.

Politics and Propaganda: The Use and Abuse of Ancient Conflicts in the Modern Battle for Jerusalem (The Bible and Interpretation) - This excerpt from a new book by Eric Cline shows how the recent events described above are but one page in a long story.

Temple Mount bulges on the southern and eastern walls (BiblePlaces.com)  Photographs of other problems caused by the construction of the underground mosque.