Posted on 04/13/2005 9:59:08 PM PDT by Nachum
Arutz-7's Ezra HaLevi took an exclusive inside look into one of the most important and unique archaeological explorations in history - currently in danger of going unfinished due to lack of funding.
In November 1999, the Islamic Wakf carried out an illegal construction project on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. The unsupervised digging caused irreparable damage to the important site, as well as to untold priceless artifacts contained in rubble removed during the construction and dumped clandestinely in the Kidron Valley.
Though the archaeological remains were no longer in their original contexts, they held enormous potential to shed light on the undocumented human history of the Temple Mount, as systematic archaeological excavation or scientific study have never been permitted there. The mounds of dirt in the Kidron Valley therefore contained the only available data from the Temple Mount to which modern archaeologists have ever had access.
At the time, the police and the government Antiquities Authority refused to interfere, citing concerns of violence by Muslims who deny that Temples ever stood on the Temple Mount. Zachi Zweig, then an archaeology student, called a press conference to publicize the extent of the archaeological havoc being perpetrated. Zweig caused a stir in the media by displaying an assortment of artifacts that he had easily scooped out of the piles. The story elicited outrage across the political spectrum in Israel, which was followed by temporary restrictions on the free access of heavy construction equipment on the Temple Mount. The dirt itself into which the Wakf had mixed garbage, was meanwhile ignored, and the Antiquities Authority refused to fund an examination of the tons of rubble.
Prominent archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkay decided to undertake the task of sifting the 70 truckloads of Temple Mount dirt in order to rescue as much archaeological information from the destruction as possible.
Private donations were gathered, and Zweig and Barkay proceeded to bring truckloads of earth to the Tzurim Valley National Park, located on the western slope of Mount Scopus, just below Hebrew University and the Maaleh Adumim tunnel.
Using a mechanical sifter, the rubble was first separated into heaps consisting of material of differing sizes. The piles were then sifted by hand.
The work at the site was at first conducted primarily by volunteers who heard of the project by word of mouth and through Jerusalem-based email lists. Soon, groups from schools and on programs began pitching in for a few hours at a time. Eventually, Zweig began paying some of the more dedicated volunteers to work full-time, and since then, progress has increased significantly.
“The very act of spending time and making the effort to examine debris just because it originates from the Temple Mount transmits a very powerful message to the general public and to the world as a whole about the importance of the place,” Dr. Barkay said, likening the painstaking examination of the Temple Mount rubble to the respect given to a dead corpse by burying it.
The sifting and examinations have already yielded important artifacts from various periods, starting from the First Temple period until today. Among the discoveries so far:
Coin from the period of the First Revolt against the Romans that preceded the destruction of the Second Temple bearing the phrase “For the Redemption of Zion” * During the first days of the project, a coin was recovered from the Great Revolt against the Romans, preceding the destruction of the Second Temple. It bore the Hebrew phrase L’Herut Tzion, “For the Redemption of Zion.” The find was particularly meaningful, as the Temple Mount itself was one of the focal points of the Revolt.
* A few days later, on the eve of Hanukah, workers discovered the “pinched style” spout of a Hasmonaean lamp.
* Several weeks later, on the Tenth of Teveth (one of the fast days commemorating events that lead to the destruction of the First Temple) a crusader arrowhead was discovered. Though this was from a later period than the Temple’s destruction, arrowheads were subsequently recovered from earlier periods.
* An unexpected find, due to the Wakf’s removal of almost all large artifacts, was a large segment of a marble pillar’s shaft - one meter tall and 60 cm in diameter, streaked with purple veins and white spots. There is another segment of a column shaft with a similar texture lying in a heap of various marble column shafts near the southern wall within the Temple Mount. Both fragments seem to be from the same pillar.
The marble pillar dumped in the Kidron Valley and another segment with a similar texture lying in a heap of various marble column shafts near the southern wall on the Temple Mount
* A large amount of pottery shards were discovered,. 10-20 percent of it from the time of the First Temple period and a small amount from the Second Temple period.
* Animal bones - remnants of sacrifices.
* A number of mosaic tiles and prehistoric flint implements.
* An inscription chiseled on a jar fragment of First Temple period with the ancient Hebrew letters “Heh,” , “Ayin” and “Koff”
Seal with five-pointed star with ancient Hebrew letters spelling “Jerusalem” spaced between the points * A seal impression from the Hellenistic period showing a five-pointed star with the ancient Hebrew letters spelling “Jerusalem” spaced between the points. About 30 such impressions have been found in Jerusalem on handles from the Hellenistic period (3rd century, BCE). Apparently this was a kind of official stamp from a period about which very little is known.
* Numerous ceramic oil lamps were found. The most common among them are “Herodian lamps” from the time of the Second Temple. Another frequently found lamp is the “sandal” type, characteristic of the late Byzantine period (6-7th century, CE). Many are decorated menorah patterns.
Hasmonean coin bearing inscription “Yehonathan High Priest, friend of the Jews” one one side and a picture of a cornucopia with a pomegranate in the center on the other
* About 100 ancient coins, among them, several from the period of the Hasmonaean dynasty. One of the Hasmonean coins bears an inscription “Yehonathan High Priest, friend of the Jews.” On the other side is a cornucopia with a pomegranate in the center. Another coin is of Alexander Jannaeus. One side has the design of an anchor and the other side a star.
* A fragment of a figurine from the First Temple period
* A Scytho-Iranian arrowhead, of the type used by the Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar that destroyed the First Temple in 586 BCE. Very few such arrowheads have been found in Jerusalem.
* A bronze arrowhead from the Hellenistic period, possibly a remnant left by the Seleucid forces that were stationed in the Akra fortress, or by soldiers of Shimon the Maccabee, who liberated the Temple Mount.
* An ivory comb, apparently from the Second Temple period. Similar combs have been found at Qumran and it is probable that they were used as preparation for ritual purification in a mikveh (ritual bath), prior to entering the Temple courts.
“Our prime intent is to collect all man-made relics so that later we will be able to conduct a more intensive study based on quantitative analyses,” Barkay said. “By these studies we may learn more about the level of activity on the Temple Mount during the different periods, and the characteristics of each period. Another plan is to sort the bones, identify the various animal species, and date some of them by Carbon 14 analysis.”
Because such a sensitive excavation of material had never before taken place, and because it had been purposely mixed with garbage and other matter, Zweig and Barkay had a difficult time estimating how much time the excavation would take. Despite six months of work, to date only 15% of the rubble has been examined.
“We had to develop the work methods ourselves as we progressed,” Zweig said. They now estimate that it will take four more months to finish sifting all of the material, but their initial grant of $65,000 has nearly run out. $61,000 more is needed to finish the project, something the two say could be accomplished by the end of the summer using the methods they now use.
Unbelievable.
Seems like they could sell a couple of those old coins and fund a real effort.
just a thought...
....What I wouldn't give to be there in person and to help.
I still don't understand why, after being pissed on for years, the Israelis don't bulldoze the Dome of the Rock, boot the Palestinians out of the territories Israelis won into Jordan and Egypt, and put the wall up on the borders they fought for so many years ago.
Of course, maybe that's my 18th century view of how wars are supposed to be fought, where when you win, you win, and you lose, you lose. I always forget that nowadays, after you win, you're supposed to send the loser a check every month.
I agree, and I'll go further.
Much of the Middle East used to be Jewish land until the howling Mahometan hordes drove them out. By rights, large swathes of Syria, Saudia Arabia, Iraq and Iran should belong to the Jews. I'd like to see them recapture Mecca and Medina, as well as the Saudi oil fields, and drive the Ishmaelite fiends into the wilderness.
-ccm
The upcoming construction of the Third Temple/House for All Nations will be a very exciting event for the whole world.
If they survive the wrath of God...
THIS IS FALSE STORY!!!!
NO JEWS EVER IN PALISTINE NO TEMPLE ALL MYTH!!!
ALLAH BE PRAISED KILL THE LIAR JEW INFIEDEL!!!
ISLAM ALWAYS IN HOLY LAND!!! ABRAHAM OUR FATHER!!! JEW ARE LOW AS BEASTS THE TREES WILL TELL US WHERE JEWS ARE!!!!
SAY KILL THE JEWS WHERE EVER THEY ARE SO SAY THE PROPHET!!!!
LMAO
Why oh why did the Jews of Israel permit this trashing of the Temple Mount by lunatic Muhammadans? I'm stupefied. The Muhammadans have zero respect for non Muslims that allow them to trash their holy sites
Actually, they could sell the dirt itself. 70 truckloads at $20 for a small jar's worth of actual soil from Temple Mount would be a lot of money. People would buy it.
I wrote that before on another thread - government of Israel and noone else is responsible for this destruction. They were and still are fully capable of stopping it.
I believe these Muslim excavations have been stopped for a few years
Why did the section of the Kotel almost collapse this year?
This sheds some light on the situation:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=57924
Awesome find!!!!!!!!!!!
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