Temple Mount Archives - Page 48 of 59

Rare Coin Exhibit in Jerusalem

A new exhibit opens on November 11 at the Davidson Center south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. From Arutz-7:

Among the artifacts to be displayed next week is a rare collection of 2,000-year-old coins that were burnt during the Great Revolt by the Jews against the Roman occupation, in which the Second Holy Temple was destroyed. The Western Wall, which was outside the Temple and not a part of it, is the only remaining part of the immediate area that remained standing following the destruction. The collection includes unique coins that were minted in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. One extraordinary find to be presented to the public for the first time is an extremely rare shekel that was minted by the Jewish rebels during the last months of the revolt, in the year 70 CE. Also on display will be other coins that were found in different excavations in the region and have a wide geographic origin, from Persia, via North Africa and as far away as France. These coins attest to the centrality of Jerusalem for all of the people who visited the city thousands of years ago, while leaving behind a "souvenir" in the area. It is interesting to note the difference between the Jewish coins and others on display. Contrary to pagan coins, the ruler was not usually depicted on coins of Jewish origin, due to the Jewish prohibition against making a "graven image" or idol. According to an IAA statement, it is for this reason that a variety of symbols of inanimate objects, such as a wreath or scepter and helmet, appear on many Jewish coins.

The Arutz-7 article also notes that the sarcophagus lid with the inscription “son of the high priest” will be on display. The article has several beautiful photos of coins.

Tagged Jerusalem, New Exhibits, Temple Mount

New Discoveries Related to Temple Mount

Foundation Stone has a fascinating interview with Zachi Zweig, who co-leads the Temple Mount Sifting Project with Gabriel Barkay. It was Zweig who brought public attention to the Muslim dumping of the Temple Mount material many years ago, and his initiative led Barkay to secure a permit for the project. Barkay was interviewed recently about the project, and now Zweig provides more detail about some of the latest discoveries.

You can listen to the 45-minute interview (here, select part 2), but here are a few of the highlights:

They have been working 6 days a week for about 5 years now, but they have sifted only 20% of the material. They estimate 15 more years of work!
Their interest is in knowledge, in understanding the ancient world. This is sharply contrasted with the Arabs who removed this ancient material from the Temple Mount and dumped it in the Kidron Valley.
There are some tunnels and hollow spaces under the Temple Mount that have not been previously known, including one with an Aramaic inscription.
There is a mikveh on the Temple Mount, found in the 1930s but not accurately identified until recently.
Recently the Franciscans were digging on their property on eastern slope of Temple Mount in the Kidron Valley and they found the dump from the Temple Mount in use during the periods of the First and Second Temples. They found restorable vessels from the First Temple period, maybe as early as the 10th century (time of Solomon). They discovered lots of bones from sacrifices eaten on Temple Mount. They also found cultic figurines, which the Bible says were destroyed by King Josiah and dumped in the Kidron Valley (2 Kings 23:12).
Why does no one else care? Why is there so little interest in Israel for the only archaeological work possible on the Temple Mount?
Politics hurts archaeology and our understanding of the past.
The Temple Mount is a house of prayer for ~~all nations~~ the Muslims only.
A Byzantine mosaic was discovered under the Al Aqsa Mosque during the British Mandate but never publicized. Zweig published an article about it last year.
A massive wall uprooted by the Muslim authorities in 1970 may date to First Temple period.

In all, this is quite interesting, particularly the longest bullet point above.

Debris on the Temple Mount, 2005

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Gabriel Barkay Interviewed

Gabriel Barkay is interviewed in this 10-minute video about the destruction to the Temple Mount, which he claims is carried out not by Israelis but by the Muslims. He talks as well about his long-term project to save ancient remains from that destruction. The content is not really “news,” but it’s worth hearing it from one intimately involved in the matter. The interview concludes with his account of the discovery of the Ketef Hinnom amulets, with the oldest inscriptions of biblical verses known to date.

For more, see the websites about the Temple Mount destruction and sifting project.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Double-Decker Plaza at Western Wall Planned

From Arutz-7:

Israel is planning a major archaeological dig under the Western Wall (Kotel) plaza, opposite the Temple Mount, officials announced Thursday. The excavations will create an archaeological park directly underneath the area where worshippers currently stand while praying at the Kotel.
The current prayer area will remain open, supported by pillars, while a new area will be added underneath, at the level at which worshippers at the ancient Temple stood in the past.

Don’t expect the Arab leaders to miss this opportunity.

The dig may be met with harsh reactions from Muslim and Arab leaders in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, many of whom have accused Israel of attempting to damage the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Jerusalem-area Muslims recently rioted for several days after it was rumored that “Jewish settlers” had planned to pray on the Temple Mount.

You can see an artist’s sketch of what the area will look like here. The full article is here.

The present plaza level was lowered in the 1960s, as I noted with this interesting photo comparison.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Engineer: Excavations Do Not Undermine Temple Mount

From the Jerusalem Post:

Despite recent accusations to the contrary, the chief site engineer for the Western Wall tunnels declared on Thursday that Israeli archeological excavations were not being done under the Temple Mount, were in no way detrimental to the structural stability of the mount or its surroundings, and were actually improving such stability "tenfold." "There’s been a lot of talk about instability [based on ongoing archeological excavations in the area], and let me reassure you, we have improved the structural stability here tenfold over the last few years and have actually strengthened areas where there was danger of further collapse," the chief engineer, Ofer Cohen, said during a Government Press Office-sponsored tour of the tunnels on Thursday afternoon. Standing in a section of the tunnels known as the "Hall of Ages" – so named because the archeological and subsequent reinforcement work there spans from the First Temple period until today – Cohen and the tour’s participants were dwarfed by a series of huge steel beams that had been set up to prevent the walls from caving in. "To those who say that our work here is causing structural instability, the exact opposite is true," Cohen asserted.

The rest of the story is here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Midweek Roundup

A Second Temple period hall near the Western Wall has been excavated and restored. The “Hall of Ages” is scheduled to be opened to the public in a few weeks. HT: Joe Lauer

The Baptist Press has a story on the “Joseph coins,” in which they quote Steven Ortiz and Robert Griffin as skeptical.

G. M. Grena has some comments about the upcoming ASOR meetings at his LMLK blogspot, including this note of interest to Qeiyafa watchers:

By the way, Prof. Garfinkel will have some interesting photos of jar handles with special impressions that in many ways parallel the LMLK phenomenon.

BAS reports that from January to August 2010 the Oriental Institute will launch a new exhibit
“Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-20.”

James Henry Breasted had received a large donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to establish the Oriental Institute in 1919 and quickly organized an expedition to travel across the Middle East to acquire objects for the Institute and identify sites for excavation. World War I had just ended, the political map of the Middle East had not yet been redrawn, and it was a dangerous time to be travelling through the region. The exhibit will present the incredible adventure story of the Breasted expedition through photographs, excerpts from letters, original documents from the archives, and objects purchased on the trip.

BAS is now offering a free e-book entitled “Israel: An Archaeological Journey” (requires quick registration if you haven’t already). The contents include:

The Fury of Babylon: Ashkelon and the Archaeology of Destruction, by Lawrence E. Stager
Vegas on the Med: A Tour of Caesarea’s Entertainment District, by Yosef Porath
How Jewish Was Sepphoris in Jesus’ Time?, by Mark Chancey and Eric M. Meyers
Where Masada’s Defenders Fell, by Nachman Ben-Yehuda
A New Reconstruction of Paul’s Prison, by Ehud Netzer

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Temple Mount