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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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Click on photos for larger versions. |
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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. |
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