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Archaeology 101: Jews and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

(Times of Israel) Zachi Dvira - Muslim authorities on the Temple Mount have no concern for preserving even their own archaeological heritage. In 1999, the Muslim authorities excavated a gigantic pit in the south-eastern area of the Temple Mount using bulldozers and removing 400 truckloads of dirt. This was done without any archaeological control or supervision. Consequently, we established the Temple Mount Sifting Project in order to save, preserve, and study the vast amount of archaeological artifacts that were buried in this soil. We retrieved hundreds of thousands of artifacts dating to the First and Second Jewish Temple periods and onwards, including Christian- and Muslim-era artifacts. The existence of the Jewish Temples is beyond any doubt. Numerous historical sources witnessed them, including pagan historians who were not influenced by the Jewish or Christian tradition, such as Berossus (3rd century BCE), Menander of Ephesus (2nd century BCE), Hecataeus of Abdera (c. 300 BCE), Mmaseas of Patara (c. 200 BCE), Diodorus of Sicily (1st century BCE), Strabo (1st century BCE), Tacitus (1st century CE) and many others. Artifacts found at the Temple Mount include: A Greek inscription warning gentiles not to enter further into the temple compound; A stone carved with an inscription referring to blowing the trumpets from the Temple Mount; A clay seal used by the Temple priests to keep track of commerce related to sacrificial offerings; A golden bell believed sewn to the garment worn by the high priest, as described in the Bible; Numerous Jewish ritual purification baths in the areas surrounding the Temple Mount. Moreover, the Sifting Project has recovered over 800 Jewish coins from the Second Temple period. The writer is an archaeologist and co-directs the Temple Mount Sifting Project.
2016-10-19 00:00:00
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