Quarry Used For Jewish Temple Unearthed In Israel

Yahoo News ^ | 9-23-2007 | Rebecca Harrison

[blam]

Quarry used for Jewish temple unearthed in Israel

By Rebecca Harrison
Sun Sep 23, 11:22 AM ET

Reuters Photo: Ultra-orthodox Jewish boys walk through a quarry in Jerusalem September 23, 2007. Israeli archaeologists have...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Archaeologists have found an ancient quarry where King Herod's workers may have chiselled the giant stones used to rebuild the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Sunday experts believe stones as long as 8 meters (24 feet) were extracted from the quarry and then dragged by oxen to building sites in Jerusalem for major projects such as the temple.

"This construction most likely included the walls of the Temple Mount and other monumental buildings," the authority said in a statement.

Some of the blocks discovered at the site resemble stones used in the lower parts of the Temple Mount compound, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, the statement said.

Jews believe King Solomon built the first Jerusalem temple 3,000 years ago. In 1 BC, King Herod rebuilt and expanded a second temple on the same site, which was razed by the Romans during the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The complex known as Temple Mount by Jews is also revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). It houses Islam's third-holiest mosque, making it Jerusalem's most contested site and giving it a pivotal role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said workers stumbled upon the quarry during excavations as part of a plan to build a new school in an outlying Jerusalem neighborhood known as Ramat Shlomo.

Archaeologists also discovered coins and shards of pottery which confirm the quarry was operating during the Second Temple period, when rulers of the city under King Herod embarked on major construction projects.

King Herod looms large in biblical history. Appointed "king of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in about 40 BC, Herod rebuilt and expanded the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

The Gospel of Matthew says Herod ordered the killing of young male children in Jesus's birthplace of Bethlehem -- known as the "Massacre of the Innocents" -- for fear he would lose his throne to a new "king of the Jews" whose birth had been related to him by the Magi.

Archaeologists also found a complete iron tool at the site which they believe was used to chisel out the blocks from the quarry.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[Red Badger]

Ping!.........

[yankeesdoodle]

I like the part about the tool being lodged for thousands of years in the stone.

People always speculate how these big stones were cut- now it’s a no-brainer. Thank you ditzy 2000 year old mason.

[sr4402]

This would be Herod the Great and is also know for the massacre of the innocents.

His son Herod Antipas, ruled until about 39AD. In Acts it is recorded that he claimed to be a God and was eaten 'by worms'

[ml/nj]

The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Sunday experts believe stones as long as 8 meters (24 feet) were extracted from the quarry and then dragged by oxen to building sites in Jerusalem for major projects such as the temple.

My recollection is that this one, which is part of the western wall, is a lot longer than 24 feet! It extends from where I am taking the picture to my son (six feet tall, in the orange shirt).

ML/NJ

[RightWhale]

Bigger by far than stones used to build the Great Pyramid. Dragged by oxen?

[APRPEH]

The complex known as Temple Mount by Jews is also revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). It houses Islam's third-holiest mosque, making it Jerusalem's most contested site and giving it a pivotal role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

complete with the requisite kowtow to islamic revisionism.
Islamic claims

[ml/nj]

The caption I posted along with this picture is:

Andrew shows our "tunnels" tour group the extent of a huge stone in
"The Wall" (Forget the pyramids! How did they build this thing?!)

ML/NJ

[RightWhale]

There are even bigger ones underneath. How did they do this?

[ml/nj]

There are even bigger ones underneath.

How do you know this?

ML/NJ

[RightWhale]

A hundred oxen wouldn’t move such a block. Even if they put logs underneath they would leave a trail of toothpicks and sawdust for fifty feet and that’s as far as they would get.

[ml/nj]

I guess that isn't what I was asking. You said there are bigger stones underneath. I ask how you know this to be true. Has anyone seen stones below the ones you can see on the tunnels tour?

ML/NJ

[RightWhale]

200 tons. How did they get moved. Supposedly it was the same people who built the Great Pyramid; doesn’t anybody know how they did it?

[ml/nj]

I give up !

ML/NJ

[kenavi]

I recall reading an archaeologist who believes that the stones were first cut out in a cylindrical shape, and so could be rolled to where they would be fashioned into blocks and inserted into the construction.

I got the impression that the builders knew what they were doing, and didn't use slave labor apparently.

[Squidpup]

http://www.aish.com/seminars/tunneltours/overview.asp

[Bigh4u2]

"I give up !

ML/NJ"

Here. Let me try........ahem......

RightWhale.....How do you KNOW there are BIGGER STONES UNDER THE WALL???

Let's see if this works.....:0)

[blam]

Length: 12.5 meters / 41 feet
Depth: 3.5-4.5 m / 11.5 ft.- 15 ft
Height: 3.5m /11.5 ft.
Weight: Over 500 metric tons.

[ml/nj]

Thanks for the link to the Aish virtual tour. I assume that the "largest stone" is the same as the one in my picture. I'm not sure about those support beams. My picture was taken in July 2001, and I photoshopped out the yellowness from the artificial lighting.

ML/NJ