Temple Mount Archives - Page 36 of 59

Wednesday Roundup

A proposal to create a large platform for mixed prayers along the Temple Mount’s western wall south of today’s prayer plaza has evoked some cries of protest. Though the elevated platform would create space for visitors to tour the archaeological remains below, this is “absolutely not an option,” says Eilat Mazar. “It’s a sacred archaeological site.” Nir Hasson’s article in Haaretz is superior to the reporting in the Jerusalem Post.

If you’re interested in the history of the Western Wall, from the earliest Jewish prayers to the present day, Ofer Aderet’s article in Haaretz is quite interesting. The final quotation implicitly reveals why the Jewish people no longer refer to it as the Wailing Wall.

The LMLK Blogspot reports on a letter written from Jerusalem in 1868 by a member of Charles Warren’s excavation team.

The Times of Israel: Gleaning just like Ruth would have done, if she’d had Google Maps
Leen Ritmeyer links to an interview with archaeologist Yuval Gadot who describes the earliest results from his excavation in the City of David.

The Spring 2013 issue of the electronic newsletter DigSight is now online. The focus is on Southern
Adventist University’s upcoming excavations of Lachish.

There is an explanation for the photo showing a Ferris wheel on the Temple Mount.

HT: BibleX, Mike Harney

Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall, early 1900s
Photo from the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection

Tagged Jerusalem, Shephelah, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

A rare film from 1913 shows footage of Jerusalem and the train ride up from Jaffa. Footage of prayers at the Western Wall are shown at about the 4-minute mark. (The audio is in Hebrew.)

Leen Ritmeyer explains why he disagrees with the belief that the Shushan Gate had to be directly opposite the entrance to the Temple.

Wayne Stiles has an excellent post on the City of David and its significance in history. If you haven’t seen the new 3-D film shown at the City of David Visitor’s Center, you can watch it here.

An ultra-marathoner has completed the 600-mile Israel Trail in just 15 days.

Despite warnings that it will lead to a sharp drop in tourism, the Israeli government has approved adding an 18% tax (VAT) on services to non-Israelis.

Highlight Israel shares a 30-second time-lapse video of the sun setting over the Old City of Jerusalem.

Menachem Kaiser praises the Israel Museum’s exhibit of King Herod for not only representing his great buildings but for revealing the man himself.

The 2012 Bethsaida field report is now online. Figure 2 is a scarab dated to the 8th century and possibly connected with Israel’s royal house. Previous field reports are available here.

Geza Vermes died this week. Mark Goodacre reflects on his legacy.

One of the best Bible collections in the world opened Thursday evening in Dallas. The Museum of

Biblical Art houses the new Charles C. Ryrie Library with more than 100 rare Bibles, including the

Wycliffe New Testament (1430), Tyndale’s Pentateuch (1530), Bomberg’s Biblia Hebraica (1521),
the Complutensian Polyglot (1520), and the “Wicked Bible” (1631).

HT: Judi King, Mark Hoffman

Bomberg-Biblia-Hebraica-1521-Ryrie-Library-tb050911847

Biblia Hebraica, published by Daniel Bomberg in 1521, now on display in the Charles C. Ryrie Library.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Herod's Tomb, Jerusalem, Museums, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Recent Excavations Near the Temple Mount

It’s difficult to tell what, if anything, is new in this article about excavations near the Temple Mount, but if you need a refresher on the goings-on there for the past several years, you may find this helpful.
From the Algemeiner:

Old City expert Rabbi Barnea Selevan, a veteran licensed tour guide and co-director of Foundation Stone, is excited about a series of archeological digs taking place in the vicinity of the Western Wall. For the past several years, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation has sponsored excavations at the back of the plaza, and workers have uncovered part of a Roman colonnaded street dating back to the 2nd century C.E.
But what was ignored until recently, according to Selevan, are several small stone buildings, overgrown and blocked by material from the dig.
“When I look down from the street in front of the Chabad building several levels above the site, those old walls are the most exciting thing I see,” Selevan tells JNS.org. “There’s no question they’re from First Temple times.” Seals from the Temple were found nearby. The walls, according to some archeologists, are from homes that were abandoned but not destroyed by the Roman onslaught on Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Selevan notes that the streets exposed at the back of the plaza lead to the Temple Mount in the Robinson’s Arch area and provide evidence that the Romans stayed in Jerusalem and used the Temple Mount during the early Roman period.

The article continues to describe excavations at the Givati Parking Lot as well as conservation work on the walls of the Old City.

Excavations of the Byzantine Cardo near the Western Wall.
Photo from the Jerusalem volume.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Jerusalem Quarry Discovered

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a quarry from the Herodian period north of the Old City of Jerusalem. The quarry was revealed in the course of construction of Highway 21. The IAA press release describes the results of the excavation.

An enormous quarry from the time of the Second Temple (first century CE) was exposed in recent weeks in excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out prior to the paving of Highway 21 by the Moriah Company. A 2,000 year old key, pick axes, severance wedges etc are also among the artifacts uncovered during the course of the excavation.
According to Irina Zilberbod, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The quarrying phenomenon created a spectacular sight of bedrock columns and steps and craters of sorts that were the result of the rock-cuttings. What remained are rock masses in various stages of quarrying, and there were those that were found in a preliminary stage of rock-cutting prior to detachment. Some of the stones that were quarried are more than 2 meters long. The giant stones were probably hewn for the sake of the construction of the city’s magnificent public buildings”.
Zilberbod explains, “The pick axes were used to cut the severance channels around the stone block in the bedrock surface and the arrowhead-shaped detachment wedge, which is solid iron, was designed to detach the base of the stone from the bedrock by means of striking it with a hammer. The key that was found, and which was probably used to open a door some 2,000 years ago, is curved and has teeth. What was it doing there? We can only surmise that it might have fallen from the pocket of one of the quarrymen”.
The enormous quarries that were exposed – totaling a 1,000 square meters in area – join other quarries that were previously documented and studied by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Research has shown that the northern neighborhoods of modern Jerusalem are situated on Jerusalem’s “city of quarries” from the Second Temple period.

The rest of the press release considers the questions of why this area was attractive to ancient quarriers and how they moved the stones to the building sites.

In September 2007 another Herodian quarry (location, photos) was discovered in the same neighborhood. In July 2009 a quarry was found on Shmuel Hanavi Street. Today’s story is also carried by the Times of Israel.

Aerial view of the quarries. Photo by Skyview Company.

Artifacts discovered in quarry. Photo by Clara Amit.

Key from the time of Jesus discovered in quarry. Photo by Clara Amit.

All photos courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Wednesday Roundup

10.5 Million Visits to the Western Wall in 2012 – The increase in tourism requires a doubling in restroom capacity.

Archaeology in Israel Update—February 2013 – Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg selects the top five stories of the month.

48 hours in the Negev – Onnie Schiffmiller provides a two-day itinerary beginning at Beersheba and moving south.

How to Prepare for a Holy Land Tour – Wayne Stiles recommends ways to prepare mentally, practically, physically, and spiritually.

8 Tips to Maximize Your Holy Land Tour – Stiles follows up his preparation post with suggestions on what to do once you’re in Israel, including what photos to take and not take, how to keep up, and why you should ask lots of questions.

A “full house” at the Western Wall prayer plaza during the feast of Tabernacles. Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 3.

Tagged Jerusalem, Negev, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

A cave above En Gedi is revealing well-preserved artifacts from the first century AD.

Luke Chandler has word that Yosef Garfinkel plans to follow his Khirbet Qeiyafa dig with excavations at Lachish.

The Daily Mail has photos of the newly opened exhibit of King Herod at the Israel Museum. Shmuel Browns has more.

Some are claiming that the Waqf is destroying more antiquities on the Temple Mount.

Gordon Franz evaluates Robert Cornuke’s use of a computer model to predict the location of Paul’s shipwreck on Malta.

A website for the excavations of Tel Abel Beth Maacah is now online.

En Gedi and Nahal David aerial from northwest, tb010703272

Aerial view of Nahal David and En Gedi

Tagged Dead Sea, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup