Posted on 02/07/2007 8:20:27 PM PST by Esther Ruth
Feb. 7, 2007 23:28 | Updated Feb. 7, 2007 23:45
Archeologist: Ancient cistern proves location of Second Temple
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
An Israeli archeologist said Wednesday that he has pinpointed the exact location of the Second Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.
The site identified by Hebrew University archeologist Prof. Joseph Patrich, based on the study of a large underground cistern on the Temple Mount and passages from the Mishna, places the Temple and its corresponding courtyards, chambers and gates in a more southeasterly and diagonal frame of reference compared to previous studies.
Patrich based his research, which is about to be published, on a study of a large underground cistern on the Temple Mount that was mapped by British engineer Sir Charles Wilson in 1866 on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, along with passages from the Mishna.
The giant cistern, 4.5 meters wide and 54 meters long, lay near the southeastern corner of the upper platform of the Temple Mount. Examining the location and configuration of the cistern together with descriptions of the daily rite in the Temple and its surroundings found in the Mishna, Patrich said that this cistern is the only one found on the Temple Mount that can tie in with the ancient rabbinic text describing elements involved in the daily purification and sacrificial duties carried out by the priests on the altar in the Temple courtyard.
On this basis, he says, one can reconstruct the placement of a large basin that was used by the priests for their ritual washing, with the water being drawn by a waterwheel mechanism from the cistern.
After this purification, the priests ascended the nearby ramp to the sacrificial altar.
By thus locating the laver, the water wheel, the ramp and the altar, one can then finally map, again in coordination with the Mishna, the alignment of the Temple itself and its gates and chambers, he said.
These considerations led Patrich to place the Second Temple further to the east and south than earlier thought, and at a southeasterly angle relative to the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, and not perpendicular to it, as earlier assumed.
Patrich said that his research indicates that the rock over which the Dome of the Rock was built in the 7th century CE is actually outside the confines of the Temple.
The rock is believed to be the place at which the binding of Isaac took place, while Muslims consider it to be the spot from which Muhammad ascended to heaven.
The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site as the ancient compound where the two Jewish Temples stood, and is Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.
Well, I'm not surprised the Temple was there.
That's precisely why Islam built the mosque on the same spot. It was no accident.
When the hell is the 7th century CE? I thought CE was a European electrical/safety regulatory thing?
Does this mean the temple could be rebuilt?
Christian Era instead of After Christ
Islam is a thief and it's profit is stolen.
An interesting development.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121164
Archeologist: Israel Lets Arabs Take Over Temple Mount
06:04 Feb 08, '07 / 20 Shevat 5767
(IsraelNN.com) A leading Temple Mount archaeologist has charged that the Israeli government is "doing nothing to prevent Arabs from taking over the entire Temple Mount" and fabricate claims that the First and Second Temples never existed.
Eilat Mazor, of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, made the charges as Defense Minister Amir Peretz urged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to immediately halt preparatory work for a new foot bridge next to the holy site, fearing violent reaction from the Arab world.
Ministry advisor and senior reserve IDF officer Amos Gilad added that the work could cause problems as Fatah and Hamas meet on unity talks and American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepares for talks with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert in two weeks.
The officer of the Prime Minister replied that the work causes no harm but complained that the letter from the Defense Ministry reached the media.
Jerusalem police want the work to stop because of feared Arab violence, substantiating a claim by archaeologist Mazor, who argued, "The only ones paying attention are the police, and they are only interested in quiet, so they do nothing." He added that Muslim officials throw away Jewish relics of the Holy Temples and are trying "to turn the whole of the Temple Mount into a mosque for Muslims only."
Meanwhile, Muslims are continuing with plans to build a new Temple Mount minaret from which loudspeakers will call on the public to worship. A leading Muslim cleric told WorldNetDaily that permission to build of the minaret "proves Jewish conspiracies for a synagogue will never succeed and solidifies our presence here."
OK - so now that they have confidence in the location - it's time to get the bulldozers out and do the ground work to build the new temple.... We just think the Muzzies hate Israel/Jews now....heheheh
Then again - who's temple ground is it? Who had a temple there first? It wasn't the Muzzies.
An aerial view of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, known by the Jews as the Temple Mount, top, is seen as Jewish worshipers pray at the Western Wall, bottom, in Jerusalem's Old City, in this Tuesday, Oct.(AP/EMILIO MORENATTI)
repost of full caption for above photo,,
An aerial view of the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, known by the Jews as the Temple Mount, top, is seen as Jewish worshipers pray at the Western Wall, bottom, in Jerusalem's Old City, in this Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006. file photo. Police took up positions throughout the area Tuesday as Israeli archaeologists began digging near a site holy to both Jews and Muslims amid protests and threats from Palestinians. The Israel Antiquities Authority said the work poses no danger to the holy site but Palestinians fear Israel will damage it and have warned the work would inflame tensions. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
I think before the end of the decade, Israel will officially decide to build it, but it won't happen until after a long war.
Sheik Raed Salah the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel stands with several of his followers outside The Dung Gate, one of the entrances to Jeruslaem's Old City, near the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. Salah and six supporters were taken for questioning after 'a brawl' with police guarding work near the hilltop compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, home of the Al Aqsa mosque complex, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
C.E. = "Common Era" (i.e. AD)
B.C.E. = "Before Common Era" (i.e. BC)
Personally, I have to wonder if non-Europeans wouldn't be more upset to be excluded from the "common history" more than they would from a "Christian" one...
Nope. COMMON Era. They've taken CHRIST out of the history books.
Any map with the article?
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