Jerusalem Archives - Page 190 of 199

Mount Zion – New Excavations

Excavations were resumed in June on Mount Zion after a long hiatus (since 2000). The “Mount Zion Archaeological Expedition is directed by Shimon Gibson and James Tabor and looks very promising.

After only five days of fieldwork this summer, they report the discovery of:

Well-preserved houses from the 1st century A.D.
Clear abandonment of the area during the Late Roman period (c.70-330 A.D.)
Preservation of the area during construction of the Nea Church (c. 530 A.D.)

You can read a 5-page report about the site and excavation (pdf, via Dr. Jim West). Two seasons are planned for 2008 and it sounds like they will accept students as volunteers. There are not many excavations in Jerusalem that are open to volunteers, so you might want to see what you can do to get in on this one. I can personally testify that working in an excavation with Shimon Gibson is interesting and rewarding.

Mount Zion from southeast

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Archaeologists Talk about Temple Mount Destruction

A couple of Jerusalem archaeologists have audio interviews/conference calls online. A 34-minute conference call with Gabriel Barkay is at www.onejerusalem.org. Eilat Mazar is interviewed by Arutz-7 (direct link here; doesn’t seem to work in Firefox; 15 min. long).

On another subject, Ehud Netzer talks about his discovery of Herod’s tomb here (audio version here).

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

First Century Drain Found in Jerusalem

Haaretz reports:

A 70-meter-long segment of Jerusalem’s central drain dating from the Second Temple period was discovered Sunday by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The segment is located between the Temple Mount and the Pool of Siloam. It apparently was part of a long drain that spanned from the Western Wall to the Kidron River, near the Dead Sea.
The drain stretched underneath the Old City’s main street, and cleared rainwater from the areas now known as the Jewish Quarter and the western section of City of David, as well as the Temple Mount, before the city’s destruction at the hands of the Romans in 70 C.E.
The excavation, conducted by the Antiquities Authority in conjunction with City of David Foundation, also found shards and coins from the period. The drain is made of massive slabs of stone, and is about three meters high and one meter wide.
The archeologists professors Roni Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukrun from the Antiquities Authority, who are in charge of the excavation, say that the land that accumulated during 2000 years of landslides required them to dig 10 meters deep in order to reach ancient Jerusalem’s main street.
“According to Josephus, the historian who recorded the siege, occupation and destruction of Jerusalem, people found refuge in the drain until they managed to escape through the city’s southern gate,” they said.
The northern segment of the drain, which is yet to be dug up, is believed to reach the Western Wall area, where another major drain was previously found. The archeologists assume that they are both part of the same drain.

Drains have been found in Jerusalem before, including other segments of this same drain. But if the word “drain” doesn’t excite you, it may be because you missed the size of what they found. The drain they uncovered was 70 meters (220 ft) long, 3 meters (10 ft) high and 1 meter (3 ft) wide.

The article doesn’t state exactly where the drain is located, but Reich and Shukrun have excavated in two areas in recent years that are possibilities. I think location B, depicted on the aerial photo, is more likely. Earlier excavations and photos of this area were included in the February issue of the BiblePlaces Newsletter (not online, but see Leen Ritmeyer’s blog for a photo from it).

UPDATE: The AP article includes a photograph of the channel (HT: Joseph Lauer). Very impressive. The masonry on that drain is better than the masonry of most people’s houses in Jerusalem today.

UPDATE (9/10): Some of the artifacts found in the excavation are displayed in this photograph.

UPDATE (9/11): The Israel Antiquities Authority has issued a press release.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

An Archaeologist Describes Temple Mount Destruction

Joseph Lauer sent along a list of recent articles describing the on-going destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount. That list is below. The one I want to highlight is the report by Zachi Zweig on the BAR website. Those interested in the more technical aspects of what exactly is being found/destroyed will appreciate the detailed information, photos, and the link to a video Zweig took.

For those who don’t know, Zweig is the one who initiated the rescue dig of the Temple Mount debris dumped in the late 1990s (under the direction of G. Barkay). These are sad days for those who love Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

Temple Mount "Excavation" Update

Leen Ritmeyer has posted his thoughts on exactly what wall has been uncovered in the illegal excavations. Most scholars of his caliber wouldn’t take the time to explain things so clearly for us mere mortals. Thank you, Leen. Read it here. Arutz-7 gives the take of another archaeologist on what has been revealed:

Gideon Charlap, a top Jerusalem architect and Temple Mount expert, told Arutz-7 what he saw when he visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday: “The Arabs there are digging a deep north-to-south trench, up to a meter [1.1 yards] deep. It is being dug in the area that served during Holy Temple times as the Ezrat Nashim [the area known as the Women’s Courtyard, though it was not reserved only for women -ed.]. The trench passes through three east-to-west walls, according to my calculations – walls that probably served as separations for the Temple’s offices and the like. This means that the destruction is tremendous…”

The award for the Joke of the Day goes to Mufti Mohammed Hussein, the top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem. “We don’t harm the antiquities, we are the ones who are taking care of the antiquities, unlike others who destroy them,” he said. Jerusalem archaeologist Eilat Mazar:

“No other country in the world would allow such grave damage to its most precious archaeological treasures,” Mazar said.

I wonder if there are any parallels to this situation. What other country would not be screaming bloody murder at such a situation? Dr. Eilat Mazar:

Anyone can realize that remnants of both the First and Second Temples are there, and can guess what damage is being done by the tractor. The most precious findings are just rolling around there and are available to be found – and instead they have a tractor there! If I would try to work with a tractor at one of my digs, the Antiquities Authority would stop me immediately! With a tractor, it’s impossible to make any type of careful examination of the earth and pieces being dug up.

Imagine if Ben-Tor brought a tractor to speed things up at Hazor, or if Maeir used one at Gath. Can you not imagine that the IAA would shut the dig down in seconds? But not here, at the most important archaeological site in the country. And why not? Politics. It’s much easier to sacrifice thousands of years of history for the sake of a few minutes of peace. This would all be so much simpler if we took the viewpoint of Palestinian worshipper Ismael Ramadan.

“I grew up and I see [with] my eyes and I see this is [a] mosque. I don’t see [a] temple,” he said. Like many Palestinians, he believes the temples never existed. “It’s not true,” he said. “No Temple.”

Gabriel Barkay has been sifting debris from the last major illegal excavation on the Temple Mount, and some of the discoveries were announced yesterday at the eighth annual City of David archaeological conference.

The project, now in its third year, entails scrutinizing truckloads of earth removed by the Waqf in 1999. Among the ancient finds were numerous stone tiles intended for flooring, some of which have been identified as designed for use in the Roman-era mosaic work known as opus sectile, in which colorful tiles were cut into shapes and fitted into geometric patterns. “The discovery of stone tiles used in opus sectile flooring in [earth from] the Temple Mount is one of the most important discoveries of the dirt-sifting work,” Barkai said, “and it might aid in reconstructing the appearance and character of the Temple’s outer courtyard.”

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Bahat: Archaeologists Politically Motivated; Wall Must Not Exist

The AFT has a follow-up to yesterday’s article on the discovery of a wall from the Second Temple.

The article is headlined “Doubts over ‘second temple remains’ in Jerusalem.” The headline is misleading. The only one casting doubts in the article is Dan Bahat, who has a record for distorting evidence related to the Temple Mount. He admits that he hasn’t seen the wall, and his reaction is but a knee-jerk response to the claims of other archaeologists who he says are “waging a politically inspired campaign, systematically for several years, to strengthen Israeli control over the esplanade.”

Even assuming that this charge is true, that doesn’t change the nature of construction that is being revealed and possibly destroyed on the Temple Mount. The fact that the police haven’t stepped in doesn’t mean anything; they didn’t step in when thousands of tons of earth were removed in the late 1990s either. I mentioned in the last post that Barkay is a trustworthy voice on the subject; I can’t say the same for Bahat. In addition to his appearances in the media, his Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem is filled with errors. I use portions of it with students, but with cautions. The maps are very helpful and generally more reliable. (I list some better books here.)

UPDATE: The Jerusalem Post now covers the story.

Tagged Analysis, Jerusalem, Temple Mount