Posted on 10/21/2007 12:18:49 PM PDT by Alouette
(IsraelNN.com) The unauthorized dig of a trench this past summer by the Moslem Waqf on the Temple Mount, in the course of which it was assumed that precious findings were destroyed, apparently had a thin silver lining. Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) personnel monitoring the trench-digging have, for the first time, found traces of the First Temple.
The IAA studied an archaeological level dating to the First Temple Period, exposed in the area close to the south-eastern corner of the raised platform surrounding the Dome of the Rock.
Archaeological examination of a small section of this level, led by Jerusalem District Archaeologist Yuval Baruch, uncovered fragments of ceramic table wares, animal bones, and more. The finds date from the 8th to 6th centuries BCE; the First Temple existed between the 9th and 5th centuries BCE, having been built by King Solomon in 832 and destroyed in 422.
The archaeological team - Baruch of the IAA, Prof. Sy Gitin, Director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Prof. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Ronny Reich of Haifa University - reached the conclusion, after examining the finds and archaeological data, that their characteristics and location may aid scholars in reconstructing the dimensions and boundaries of the Temple Mount during the First Temple Period.
The finds include fragments of bowl rims, bases and body sherds, the base of a juglet used for the ladling of oil, the handle of a small juglet, and the rim of a storage jar. The bowl sherds were decorated with wheel burnishing lines characteristic of the First Temple Period.
The IAA announced that it will hold an archaeological seminar concerning these finds and their archaeological interpretation at a later date.
Muslim and Jewish Claims Muslim scholars often deny any Jewish claim to the Temple Mount, and it is often charged that Arab excavations there are employed for the purpose of throwing out truckloads of artifacts that would prove otherwise. Moslem claims to the Temple Mount, on the other hand, have been debunked even by other Moslems. A commentator for the official Egyptian government weekly, of all places, has written that the entire Moslem claim on Jerusalem and the El-Aksa mosque is based on a mistaken reading of one chapter of the Quran. Ahmed Mahmad Oufa wrote that the verse that mentions a night journey by Muhammed to a mosque has nothing to do with Jerusalem, as is generally claimed, but with a mosque near the holy Moslem city of Medina.
Prof. Moshe Sharon, Middle Eastern expert in the Hebrew University, expressed great surprise at the fact that such an article would be published in Arabic and in an Arabic-speaking country. He told Arutz-7 at the time, "All in all, this is not a new claim. We must remember that Jerusalem is not mentioned at all in the Quran [though it is mentioned hundreds of time in the Bible - ed. note]. The verse in question is in Sura [chapter] 17, which states that Muhammad was brought at night from one mosque to a 'more distant' - aktsa, in Arabic - mosque. The first Moslem commentators did not explain this as referring to Jerusalem at all, of course, but rather as a miraculous night journey or night vision or some such. In the beginning of the 8th century, however, they began associating this with Jerusalem, because they had a need to start giving sanctity to Jerusalem, and so they started connecting this verse with Jerusalem... Originally, however, the Moslems recognized the area of the Dome of the Rock as holy because of the Jewish Temple of King Solomon."
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
ggg
But don't let facts get in the way of starting a holy war.
Interesting, but how can one discern boundaries of a temple from pottery shards? That could only be possible if the excavation was more extensive than what supposedly occurred: a dig to repair 40 year old electric cabling. That’s my read, at least. The Moslem excavation sought to destroy evidence of the First and Second Temples. The electric cable was just cover. Yeah, I am paranoid.
What other facts do you need, O Infidel?
* The Winged Horse given to The Prophet by the Angel Gabriel. This speedy animal helped Muhammed make it over from Medina in one night, in case you're looking for an explanation. I sees your "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and I raises you one.
You’re one smart cookie, zerodown! ;-)[And I mean that respectfully, too]
Where does the year 422 come from? Both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles say that the house of the Lord was burned when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem (587/6 BC). Nehemiah’s activities were in the reign of Artaxerxes I who died in 423.
If the eschatological projections of the Bible are at all valid then there is no amount of trucks hauling debris away from the site that will make a difference to the Truth.
Time will tell.
Olmert is busy trying to undermine the Israeli national security all in the name of PEACE. Whether it is Gaza, the Golan Heights or the Temple Mount, this guy Olmert should be dealt with by the Mossad!
The trench is not the only excavation. There is also a long tunnel that runs along three of the huge foundation blocks of the temple. Numerous artifacts have come from that tunnel. There are also several shorter tunnels that lead into what was the interior of the temple. The govt has blocked access to the tunnels.
I noticed that, too. Not sure where they got the 832 from, either.
Archaeologists Find Ancient Tunnel
Used By Jews To Escape Roman Conquest Of Jerusalem
IHT | 9-9-2007 | AP
Posted on 09/09/2007 6:30:54 PM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1893683/posts
Quarry Used For Jewish Temple Unearthed In Israel
Yahoo News | 9-23-2007 | Rebecca Harrison
Posted on 09/24/2007 1:23:22 PM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1901444/posts
Archaeology and the Propaganda War Against Israel
History News Network | 10-15-07 | Richard L. Cravats
Posted on 10/15/2007 7:39:40 AM EDT by Renfield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1911341/posts
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Thanks Alouette. |
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I thought Dawud and Suleiman were Moslem prophets as well, so it seems to me they would be undermining their own religion by denying the existence of the First Temple.
Yes it would be something indeed—but the find would never see the light of day unless something occurred like the scene of the opening of the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I didn’t notice the 832. That’s about 100 years too late (Solomon’s death is put about 931...but the building of the temple would have been some years earlier).
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