BREAKING NEWS: MAJOR BIBLICAL DISCOVERY ROCKS THE WORLD – MUSLIMS ARE LIVID by Shari Menzel

This is exciting! Archeologists have made a biblical discovery that is the first of its kind! Muslims are pissed because there is new evidence that the Jews ruled Israel long before Palestinians claimed the land.

Charisma News reports that the royal seal of Kind Hezekiah, who ruled around 700 B.C. has been added to the nation’s extensive collection of ancient artifacts.

Hezekiah was described in the bible as a daring monarch- “There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” (2 Kings 18:5)-who was dedicated to eliminating idolatry in his kingdom.

This is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation,’’ Mazar said.

The detailed clay seal, known as a bulla, was uncovered near the southern part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City. It was mistakenly buried in a refuse dump around the time of the Israelite king.

After five years of research, a team member was able to decipher the text.

The dots help separate the words:”Belonging to Hezekiah (son of) Ahaz king of Judah.” “It’s always a question, what are the real facts behind biblical stories,” Mazar said. “Here we have a chance to get as close as possible to the person himself, to the king himself.”

Researchers were ecstatic to reveal that they have stumbled upon the first found seal of a biblical Israelite king.

However this discovery not only has a biblical significance, but is relevant to Palestine conflict today. The word “Palestine” is believed by many to be a name derived from the Egyptian and Hebrew term for “migrants” or “wanderers”, and comes from the biblical tribe of the Philistines, who were barbaric nomads determined to conquer the Israelite. However, as the bible describes, the Philistines’ giant fighter, Goliath, was defeated by a shepherd named David, who went on to become the king of Israel in the 10th century B.C.

This seal precedes even the earliest mention of an official derivative of Palestine- 200 years after King Hezekiah.

This means there is tangible proof that an Israelite king ruled the area known as Israel today long before anyone mildly considered a Palestinian lived in the area.

So all the claims of Islam being the true ancestral owners of the land that Israel now occupies and the claims that Israel stole the land given them by “Allah” are all FALSE!

One thing is for sure, what happens next is going to be an awesome manifestation of biblical prophecy unfolding right before our eyes!!

The Ancient Village of Itri, Judean Hills

Itri is an ancient Judean village that was destroyed during the Bar Kochba Revolt against the Romans nearly 1900 years ago (132 -136 CE). It was a village of extremely pious Jews that has a large synagogue, four mikvas, and one of the most well-preseved winepresses from the period of the Second Temple. The village is off the beaten tourist path, quite near the valley where David fought Goliath in the western Judean foothills.

Ancient Golden Treasure Found at Foot of Temple Mount "Ophel Treasure” apparently includes oldest Torah ornament ever found: medallion with Menorah, Torah and Shofar etchings

In summer excavations at the foot of the Temple Mount, Hebrew Universityof Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar made a stunning discovery: two bundles of treasure containing thirty-six gold coins, gold and silver jewelry, and a gold medallion with the menorah (Temple candelabrum) symbol etched into it. Also etched into the 10-cm medallion are a shofar (ram’s horn) and the image of a Torah scroll.

The medallion may be the oldest Torah ornament ever found in archaeological digs.

A third-generation archaeologist working at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, Dr. Mazar directs excavations on the City of David’s summit and at the Temple Mount’s southern wall. Calling the find “a breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” Dr. Mazar said: “We have been making significant finds from the First Temple Period in this area, a much earlier time in Jerusalem’s history, so discovering a golden seven-branched Menorah from the seventh century CE at the foot of the Temple Mount was a complete surprise.”

The discovery was unearthed just five days into Mazar’s latest phase of the Ophel excavations, and can be dated to the late Byzantine period (early seventh century CE).  The gold treasure was discovered in a ruined Byzantine public structure a mere 50 meters from the Temple Mount’s southern wall.

The menorah, a candelabrum with seven branches that was used in the Temple, is now the national symbol of the state of Israel and reflects the historical presence of Jews in the area. The position of the items as they were discovered indicates that one bundle was carefully hidden underground while the second bundle was apparently abandoned in haste and scattered across the floor.

Given the date of the items and the manner in which they were found, Mazar estimates they were abandoned in the context of the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE. After the Persians conquered Jerusalem, many Jews returned to the city and formed the majority of its population, hoping for political and religious freedom. But as Persian power waned, instead of forming an alliance with the Jews, the Persians sought the support of Christians and ultimately allowed them to expel the Jews from Jerusalem.

Hanging from a gold chain, the menorah medallion is most likely an ornament for a Torah scroll. In that case it is the earliest Torah scroll ornament found in archaeological excavations to date. It was buried in a small depression in the floor, along with a smaller gold medallion, two pendants, a gold coil and a silver clasp, all of which are believed to be Torah scroll ornamentations.

“It would appear that the most likely explanation is that the Ophel cache was earmarked as a contribution toward the building of a new synagogue, at a location that is near the Temple Mount,” said Dr. Mazar. “What is certain is that their mission, whatever it was, was unsuccessful. The treasure was abandoned, and its owners could never return to collect it."

The Ophel cache is only the third collection of gold coins to be found in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem, said Lior Sandberg, numismatics specialist at the Institute of Archaeology.  “The thirty-six gold coins can be dated to the reigns of different Byzantine emperors, ranging from the middle of the fourth century CE to the early seventh century CE,” said Sandberg.

Found with the coins were a pair of large gold earrings, a gold-plated silver hexagonal prism and a silver ingot. Remnants of fabric indicated that these items were once packaged in a cloth purse similar to the bundle that contained the menorah medallion.

Mazar’s Ophel excavation made headlines earlier this year when she announced the 2012 discovery of an ancient Canaanite inscription (recently identified as Hebrew), the earliest alphabetical written text ever uncovered in Jerusalem.

The 2013 excavation season at the Ophel ran from the middle of April to the end of July, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the HebrewUniversity. The Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out the preservation works, and is preparing the site for the public.

King Solomon’s Wall Excavated

Discovery of a Second Temple Period quarry in Jerusalem – Buidling stones for the Second Temple

The Givati Parking Lot dig is an archaeological excavation located in the City of David Jerusalem

Biblical Archaeology from the Air

ELDER OF ZIYON: Archaeology news 3: Samson mosaics found in Galilee

From Israel Antiquities Authority:

A monumental synagogue building dating to the Late Roman period (ca. 4th-5th centuries C.E.) has been discovered in archaeological excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee.

The excavations are being conducted by Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto in Canada. Students and staff from UNC and the consortium schools are participating in the dig.

Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). Thissecond season of excavations has revealed portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of the synagogue building. The mosaic, which is made of tiny colored stone cubes of the highest quality, includes a scene depicting Samson placing torches between the tails of foxes (as related in the book of Judges 15). In another part of the mosaic, two human (apparently female) faces flank a circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refersto rewards for those who performgood deeds.

“This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient (Late Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq),” said Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor in the department of religious studies in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly.”

The University of North Carolina describes a different Samson mosaic; I'm not sure if it is from the same site or the one nearby:

Very high resolution image; click to see detail

In summer 2012, a mosaic showing Samson and the foxes (as related in the Bible’s Judges 15:4) was discovered in the synagogue’s east aisle. This summer, another mosaic was found that shows Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders (Judges 16:3). Adjacent to Samson are riders with horses, apparently representing Philistines. Although he is not described as such in the Hebrew Bible, Samson is depicted as a giant in both scenes, reflecting later Jewish traditions that developed about the biblical judge and hero.

Biblical scenes are not uncommon in Late Roman synagogue mosaics, but only one other ancient synagogue in Israel (at Khirbet Wadi Hamam) is decorated with a scene showing Samson.

“The discovery of two Samson scenes in the Huqoq synagogue suggests that it was decorated with a Samson cycle — the first such cycle known in Israel,” said Magness. “A cycle is a series of scenes about Samson, in which different episodes relating to Samson are depicted.”

Another portion of mosaic discovered in the synagogue’s east aisle preserves a scene that includes several male figures and an elephant. Below that is an arcade, with the arches framing young men arranged around a seated elderly man holding a scroll. The strip below shows a bull pierced by spears, with blood gushing from his wounds, and a dying or dead soldier holding a shield.

This mosaic differs in style, quality and content from the Samson scenes, Magness said.

“It might depict a triumphal parade or perhaps a martyrdom story based on Maccabees 1-4, in which case it would be the first example of an apocryphal story decorating an ancient synagogue,” she said. “Apocryphal books were not included in the Hebrew Bible/Jewish canon of sacred scripture.”

(h/t L. King)

Ancient Mosaic Depicting Samson Uncovered in a Galilee Synagogue

Photo: James Haberman

Excavations in a late Roman era synagogue at Huqoq in Israel’s eastern lower Galilee have uncovered a new mosaic depicting the biblical hero and judge, Samson. Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been conducting archaeological excavations at Huqoq since 2011, notes that while scenes from the Bible are not uncommon in ancient synagogues, mosaics featuring Samson are. Last summer (2012), excavations in the Huqoq synagogue brought to light a scene depicting Samson and the foxes (Judges 15:4). This summer, another section of the mosaic floor was discovered which shows Samson carrying the gate of Gaza (Judges 16:1-3).

Photo: James Haberman

Wadi Hamam is the only other ancient synagogue in Israel which has a mosaic with a scene of Samson, while outside of Israel only one ancient building in Turkey which may be a synagogue has a Samson mosaic. However, the Samson mosaics are not the only unusual aspect about the excavations at Huqoq. Magness states, “In most ancient synagogues in Israel with a decorated floor featuring figured designs such as people and animals, the figured decoration is in the center of the synagogue and the aisles have geometric patterns.” However, at Huqoq, there are mosaics with figured scenes in the aisles.”

Magness is puzzled by why mosaics depicting Samson are found at Huqoq, as it was not in the tribal area of Dan. Furthermore, many rabbis of the Talmudic period were not fond of Samson because of his attraction to non-Jewish women. While Magness stated that some positive depictions of Samson survive in rabbinic literature, these traditions are preserved mainly in the Babylonian Talmud, not in the Jerusalem Talmud. Thus, the glorification of Samson in a synagogue mosaic in Galilee goes against the generally negative view of Samson held by many rabbis at that time.

According to Magness, the surviving rabbinic traditions that depict Samson positively “suggest that some Jews considered Samson as a prototype or forerunner of the messiah. He had the potential to be the messiah but wasn’t. The popularity of Samson is connected with those traditions, with traditions that viewed Samson as a deliver and redeemer of Israel. In the area of Mount Arbel and Tiberias, these traditions were popular. This may be why the Samson scenes appear here.”

Interestingly, the mosaics of Samson depict him as a giant figure, even though Samson was not described as such in the Tanakh. However, Magness notes that some rabbinic literature describes Samson as a giant. She emphasized, “By the time of the Mishna and Talmud, there were all sorts of traditions about different figures in the Bible.” Depicting Samson as a giant accords with traditions that considered Samson as a redeemer of the Jewish people!

Adjacent to Samson carrying the gates of Gaza on his shoulders are riders with horses, who apparently represent Philistines. According to Magness, “In the Bible, they have chariots; they are not riding horses. In later Aramaic translations (Targumim), there are descriptions of Philistines riding horses. It is a reflection again of something that doesn’t occur in the biblical account, but in later traditions.”

DEMISE OF THE HUQOQ JEWISH COMMUNITY

Magness is unsure how the Huqoq synagogue met its demise. In front of the synagogue’s bema, there was a pile of stones mixed with ash that was found elsewhere in the synagogue, apparently from the later robbing-out of the bema. Above the synagogue, a medieval structure was built. There are no signs that the synagogue suffered a violent or sudden destruction. Although the synagogue was built in the 5th century, Huqoq is mentioned in the Tanakh in connection with the settlement of the tribes of Asher and Naphtali, and it was a Jewish village in the late Second Temple period and in the time of the Mishna and Talmud. Ishtori Haparchi (1280-1355) mentions a synagogue in Huqoq in his time, perhaps referring to the medieval building above the late Roman synagogue. By the Ottoman period, Huqoq was a Muslim village.

ELDER OF ZION: Al Aqsa Foundation declares all Biblical archaeology to be lies

The Al Aqsa Foundation issued a statement today saying that every piece of evidence that points to the existence of any Jewish Temple - first or second - on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a lie.

The group says that it rejects these myths and confirma the Islamic and Arab character of the area.

According to the statement, they say that all the experts in the Israel Antiquities Authority who claim they found stones and jewelry and seals in the area of ​​the Al Aqsa Mosque, claiming they are archaeological discoveries of Jewish objects dating from the time of the First and Second Temples, are lying, since there were no Temples. The group said "these lies and myths are a figment of the imagination," and said that international and even Israeli archaeologists have confirmed through research and vigorous exploration that was scientific and objective that there were no structures in the area that were Jewish temples. 

They stressed that Arabs Canaanites were the first residents who built Jerusalem, with Jebusites and Amorites living there for thousands of years, while "the Jews" were there for only a short time. 

The Al-Aqsa Foundation says that the Israel Antiquities Authority and other groups are trying desperately to fabricate history of Hebrew presence in Jerusalem, through the myths and legends of the alleged phantom structure in the place of or under the Al Aqsa Mosque, to the point of wanting to demolish the mosque. The groups asserted that the real history is clear and it has proved beyond a doubt that the al-Aqsa mosque is for Muslims alone,

The foundation even says that relics found by sifting through the tons of debris that were criminally excavated from the site by the Islamic Waqf and dumped outside Jerusalem were really not from the Temple area at all. 

They even illustrate the article with some of these lying relics.

It is true that there is only fragmentary yet intriguing archaeological  evidence so far of the First Temple, because it was replaced by the Second Temple and no one is allowed to dig underneath the Temple Mount to look for it. But lots of the Second Temple is still there, as Wikipedia summarizes:

After 1967, archaeologists found that the wall extended all the way around the Temple Mount and is part of the city wall near the Lion's Gate. Thus, the Western Wall is not the only remaining part of the Temple Mount. Currently, Robinson's Arch (named after American Edward Robinson) remains as the beginning of an arch that spanned the gap between the top of the platform and the higher ground farther away. This had been used by the priests as an entrance. Commoners had entered through the still-extant, but now plugged, gates on the southern side which led through beautiful colonnades to the top of the platform. One of these colonnades is still extant and reachable through the Temple Mount. The Southern wall was designed as a grand entrance. Recent archeological digs have found thousands of mikvehs (ceremonial bathtubs) for the ritual purification of the worshipers, as well as a grand stairway leading to the now blocked entrance. Inside the walls, the platform was supported by a series of vaulted archways, now called Solomon's Stables, which still exist and whose current renovation by the Waqf is extremely controversial. The temple itself was constructed of imported white marble that gleamed in the daylight.

On September 25, 2007 Yuval Baruch, archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a quarry compound which may have provided King Herod with the stones to build his Temple on the Temple Mount. Coins, pottery and an iron stake found proved the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BCE. Archaeologist Ehud Netzer confirmed that the large outlines of the stone cuts is evidence that it was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves.[30]

Moreover, there is a significant and growing collection of artifacts that verify specific parts of the Biblical narrative.

But I guess they are all fake too.

Also, as I learned during my tour of the Temple Mount earlier this year, the Al Aqsa Mosque itself was constructed on top of the Herodian extensions of the Mount, meaning that the Temple was not underneath it - the Temple was where the Dome of the Rock is.

JEWISH PRESS: Jerusalem Home Harbors Buried Second Temple Artifacts The Siebenberg House Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City Reopens to Public

Archeological digging at Siebenberg Museum.

Miriam Siebenberg lives in a very unusual house – unusual because of the fact that her home was built on top of another home, one that existed over 2,000 years ago. Within the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, Miriam and her husband Theo purchased a house after the Six Day War, eventually discovering that it contained a treasure trove of history buried deep underground.

In the Siebenberg’s house, a collection of archaeological artifacts discovered after years of digging in the basement, appear on display. Arrowheads, ink-wells, coins, ancient pottery, a glass cup and pieces of jewelry including a bronze key ring, likely used in the Second Temple era by a woman to unlock her jewelry box, can all be seen in the display.

But even more intriguing is what lies beneath their home. One can see the remains of an ancient Jewish residence and a way of life that dates back to the days of King Solomon and the Second Temple period. “The further we dug, the more history we uncovered,” Seibenberg told Tazpit News Agency in an exclusive interview.

Siebenberg credits her husband Theo with the drive to initiate the not-so-simple years of digging under their modern four-story house that eventually led to the archaeological discoveries

“When we moved into our finished home in 1970, Theo had a feeling that there was much more to this place,” said Siebenberg.

At that time, archaeological discoveries by Hebrew University archaeologists in the Jewish Quarter including the area around the Siebenberg’s home were making headlines. The Siebenbergs believed that perhaps there were artifacts buried under their home as well so Theo applied to the Department of Antiquities for a permit to excavate beneath their house.

“We invested our own money, brought in engineers, architects, archaeologists expert diggers, and donkeys to remove the rubble, digging up to 60 feet down to discover all this,” Siebenberg explains.

During more than 18 years of unearthing, the Siebenbergs discovered a ritual bath, known as a mikveh used by Jews during the Second Temple era, an aqueduct, a Byzantine water cistern, and even empty burial chambers believed to have been used by Jewish royalty in the 10^th century B.C. during King Solomon’s reign.

Eventually, the remnants of the base wall of what is believed to be a Jewish home that stood 2,000 years ago, were also uncovered as were ancient Hasmonean stones, including one with a menorah engraving. Evidence of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. was also discovered –a line of ash sealed into sedimentary rock was sent to a special lab in South Africa for testing, which found that the ashes were indeed from that time. In the 1980s, the story behind the Siebenberg’s basement, which Theo had transformed into a museum for the public in 1985, received much international attention. National Geographic, the New York Times, BBC, ABC, NBC, and many other international media sources devoted coverage to the history being uncovered under the Siebenberg House.

“We had groups from all around the world visiting our archaeological museum including European parliamentarians, US Congressmen, foreign press and other leading figures,” Siebenberg told Tazpit News Agency.

In addition to the fascinating story of the Siebenberg House, the couple behind the digging has their own unique tale. Theo, named after Theodore Herzl, came from a wealthy diamond family in Antwerp that barely escaped Belgium following the Nazi takeover. While not religious, Theo grew up in a traditional Jewish family with a strong love for Israel. Siebenberg eventually emigrated to the Jewish state in 1966 after a series of successful international investments and married Miriam, who was born and raised in Tel Aviv.

“Theo always felt homeless, having been uprooted from his Antwerp home at the age of 16 by the Nazis,” says Miriam. “But he always knew he wanted to live in Jerusalem and as close as possible to where the Temple once stood – the most important place in Jewish history. This was the only place he considered home in his lifetime.”

Today, Miriam, continues to carry the legacy of the Siebenberg House. This past June, Miriam, with the help of her assistant, 27-year-old Adi Rabinowitz-Bedein, reopened the museum to the general public, providing tours of the home’s unique history while showcasing the archaeological finds. “This is our life’s work,”comments Miriam.

“My friends in Tel Aviv don’t understand why we live in Jerusalem,” says Miriam who describes herself as secular. “But I know my roots are here – both my roots and the roots of our people are right underneath this house.”

“I live the ancient past of the Jewish nation,” says Miriam. “And I want to share this history and experience with as many people as possible.”

To visit the Siebenberg House museum, call to make a reservation for a guided tour: 02-628-2341 or 0547267754. The museum is also available for cultural events and special occasions.

Israeli 1,700-year-old Mosaic on Display at Louvre Museum Israelis are familiar with archaeological finds dating back centuries and sometimes thousands of years. Now the world’s most popular museum, the Louvre, exhibits a 1,700-year-old mosaic found in Lod

Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world are expected to visit the spectacular 1,700-year-old Lod mosaic this summer at the Louvre, the first time an official Israeli exhibition will be displayed in the world’s most visited museum.

The spectacular Lod mosaic that was uncovered in an archaeological excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority is on display starting tomorrow (Thursday) in the Cour du Sphinx (Sphinx Courtyard) in the Roman wing of the museum until August 19.

Approximately 700,000 visitors have attended exhibitions at five museums in the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Only a number of private Israeli artists previously have been exhibited in the Louvre.

“This is a great honor and achievement for the Israel Antiquities Authority and a wonderful opportunity for the millions of visitors to the museum to see the masterpiece from Lod and learn about the archaeology and history of the Land of Israel,” said Shuka Dorfman, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The 1,700 year old mosaic, one of the most magnificent and largest ever revealed in Israel, was uncovered in Lod, near Ben Gurion Airport, in 1996 and was covered over again in order to protect it.

In 2009, after obtaining the necessary funding to expose it, the Israel Antiquities Authority renewed the archaeological excavation there and removed the mosaic from the site in order to conserve it.

The mosaic constitutes a rare archaeological gem that is extraordinarily well-preserved. It measures approximately 180 square meters and is composed of colorful carpets that depict in detail mammals, birds, fish, flora and the sailing and merchant vessels that were used at that time. It is thought the mosaic floor was part of a villa that belonged to a wealthy person in the Roman period.

The Louvre is holding a festive opening event on Thursday, sponsored by the Israeli embassy in Paris.

TIMES OF ISRAEL: Did ancient beams discarded in Old City come from first and second temples?A collection of neglected wooden beams from the Al-Aqsa mosque offer a glimpse at ancient Jerusalem — and possibly at the biblical temples themselves

Under a tarp in one little-visited corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem lies a pile of rotting timber that would hardly catch a visitor’s eye.

In a padlocked storage space under a building in the settlement of Ofra, in the West Bank, lies an even larger pile of similar beams, some with rusted metal nails. Still more of the same beams can be found in one of the rooms of the Rockefeller Museum, outside Jerusalem’s Old City.

The beams offer a fascinating historical record of Jerusalem, including Byzantine cathedrals, early Muslim houses of prayer and, not inconceivably, the ancient temple complex itself. But though there are signs of renewed interest in them — including an article this month in Biblical Archaeology Review, a US publication — the several hundred existing beams have never been subjected to a comprehensive academic study, and many are in danger of decay and disintegration.Despite their unprepossessing appearance, the beams are unique and important to scholars because of their place of origin — the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount — and their age: Some were hewed from trees felled nearly 3,000 years ago.

The first iteration of Al-Aqsa was built in the late 600s CE on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. When the Muslim builders constructed the roof and supports they re-used timber that had been used in older structures nearby, common practice in the ancient world.

Those structures, scholars say, include not only materials dating to the time of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago — but to the time of the first, as many as eight centuries before.

Beams (left) near the Golden Gate on the Temple Mount, this week (photo credit: Matti Friedman/Times of Israel)

Many of the beams were removed from Al-Aqsa in the late 1930s, during a renovation that followed two earthquakes, and some were taken by British scholars to the Rockefeller Museum, where they remain. Other beams were removed in a later renovation of the structure’s dome under Jordanian rule in the 1960s.

In 1984, a scholar from Tel Aviv University, Nili Liphschitz, published a brief scientific paper looking at 140 of the beams in a Hebrew journal, Eretz Yisrael, along with two other scholars.

Liphschitz, a dendochronologist — a specialist in determining the age of trees — found that most of the beams she examined were of Turkish oak, with a smaller number of Lebanese cedars. There were also beams of cypress and several other types of wood.

By analyzing the tree rings and using carbon-14 dating, she found, unsurprisingly, that some of the wood was from the early Muslim period. One of the cedars, for example, was about 1,340 years old, or roughly the same age as Al-Aqsa. (The margin of error for the rather inexact dating process was 250 years.)

But others were older, dating to Byzantine times, and still others dated to Roman times, around the era of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

Even more striking were her findings regarding one of the cypress beams. The age of the beam “was found to be 2,600 years,” she wrote, with a margin of error of 180 years. That placed it near 630 B.C.E. — around 50 years before the destruction of the First Temple.

And one of the oak beams was even older: 2,860 years. That meant the tree had been cut down around 880 B.C.E, early in the First Temple period.

The Temple Mount, with the black-domed Al-Aqsa mosque in the foreground (photo credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90)

There was no evidence connecting the beams to the temple itself, and in her paper Liphshitz seemed less interested in the possible human or biblical connections than in what the beams related about climate changes in the region. The truncated size of some of the tree rings, she wrote, seemed to indicate that a heavy drought had struck the region in the 5^th century C.E.

Her paper drew little public notice, but a lecture she delivered the same year happened to be attended by two residents of Ofra, one of the first communities established in the West Bank by Gush Emunim, the religious settler movement. One of the men was Ze’ev Erlich, today a well-known tour guide and historian. The other was Yehuda Etzion, a prominent settler leader and a fervent believer in the return of Jewish ritual to the Temple Mount.

“Yehuda walked out after the lecture and said — we have to get those beams,” Erlich recalled.

After the renovation of the 1960s, it appeared, the Waqf — the Islamic body still in charge of the day-to-day running of the holy site — had sold some of the beams as scrap to an Armenian dealer, Mussa Baziyan, who had a junkyard north of Jerusalem. Baziyan was selling the wood to carpenters. As it happened, the Ofra settlers had done business with the dealer, buying second-hand bunk beds from an insane asylum for use in a new dormitory.

Etzion arranged for the local government in charge of Ofra to pay, and had trucks ferry the 100 or so remaining beams from Baziyan’s yard to the settlement.

Later that year, Etzion was arrested as part of a Jewish underground that had killed Palestinian seminary students, maimed mayors of West Bank cities, planned to bomb Arab buses in East Jerusalem — and was plotting to blow up the Islamic shrines of the Noble Sanctuary to pave the way for the reconstruction of a Jewish temple on the mount.

The beams lay outside for a time. Later, Erlich had them transferred to an indoor storage space, where he showed them to a reporter this week. Six beams which were found to have carved decorations are stored at an undisclosed location elsewhere in the settlement. Samples from 14 of the beams at Ofra have been taken to the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot for carbon dating, and Erlich is currently awaiting the results.

Some of the Al-Aqsa beams include inscriptions in Arabic and Greek. One beam at the Rockefeller Museum, for example, bears the Greek words, “In the time of the most holy archbishop and patriarch Peter and the most God-beloved this whole house of St. Thomas was erected.” The Peter in question was patriarch of Jerusalem in the mid-500s C.E., and the beam must have been used in a Byzantine church of the time.

In a 1997 paper, Liphschitz and a second scholar, Gideon Biger, suggested that some of the wood for Al-Aqsa may have come from the ruins of the grandiose Byzantine church known as the Nea, destroyed by earthquake or war in the early 600s. Other beams might have come from an earlier wooden mosque that a 7^th-century pilgrim described existing on the Temple Mount before Al-Aqsa was constructed.

Beams in a storeroom at Ofra, this week (photo credit: Matti Friedman/Times of Israel)

Those structures also almost certainly used wood from earlier buildings. The story of the beams — moving from conqueror to conqueror and from one religion to another through the centuries — is the story of Jerusalem.

“The cypress timber, dated to the 1^st century BC, was probably taken from a more ancient monumental construction, built in or around Jerusalem in that era,” the two scholars wrote. That was the time of Herod’s massive rebuilding of the Second Temple complex.

In this month’s article in Biblical Archaeology Review, Israeli archaeologist Peretz Reuven singled out another beam, among those currently kept on the Temple Mount, in a pile next to the Golden Gate. It was cataloged by British Mandate officials in the 1930s as number 13.

Beam 13, he wrote, not only has Roman-style decorations but also signs of columns at intervals of 10.8 feet. “There was a similar interval between the columns in Herod’s Royal Stoa, a magnificent basilica that stood on the southern end of the Temple Mount,” Reuven noted. That is where Al-Aqsa now sits.

Might some of the beams lying around Jerusalem and elsewhere be from Herod’s temple complex? “I believe the answer is ‘yes,’” Reuven wrote. “Some of the beams may even be from the Temple.”

It is unusual for wood to survive for thousands of years, according to archaeologist Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University. At Maeir’s ongoing excavation of the three-millennia-old Philistine city of Gath, for example, only carbonized wood fragments survive.

But it is different if wood is kept indoors and cared for, he said.

“Usually, wood does not survive in Mediterranean climate — save when beams are used again and again and are curated long after they would have normally survived,” he said.

These pieces of wood, he said, “were probably used repeatedly over the ages, as large beams would be in many cases. So they are definitely archaeological materials, though of course whether they are from the temple is another question.”

Byzantine mosaic unearthed in southern IsraelExcavating ahead of the construction of a new interchange, archaeologists uncover the ornate floor of a public building from 1,500 years ago

Al-Jazeera Stirs Up Controversy

Heading over to Al Jazeera a couple of days ago, I was greeted with this ominous title:

Tempted as I was to see what sort of drivel such acclaimed human rights expertsantisemites and Israel-haters writing for Al Jazeera, like Falk, White, Rosenberg and LeVine, had in store for me this time, I opened it. I was amazed to find that it leads to an editorial titled In Pictures: Exploring the Western Wall, with, dare I say it, magnificent images of underground Jerusalem.

The disconnect between the headline and the editorial continues there as well, repeating numerous anti-Israel memes we have grown accustomed to when dealing with Archaeology, Jerusalem, and Archaeology in Jerusalem. Fortunately, they’re easily busted:

In the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City – the centre of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and much of the Arab world at large – lie the Western Wall tunnels.

It’s not Jerusalem at the center of the Arab-Israeli wars, it’s Israel and the Jews.

Located 15 metres underground and running the length of almost half a kilometre, the tunnels are adjacent to the ancient Noble Sanctuary, also known as the Temple Mount, and home to Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is considered one of the three holiest sites in Islam.

The 3rd holiest to be exact, while typically, there’s no mention of the site being the holiest site in Judaism. It should also be noted that for the most part, these aren’t tunnels per se,but rather underground halls and passageways, used and neglected throughout Jerusalem’s millennia of human activity.

While Israeli tours visit the site daily, a Palestinian-led tour offered by theCentre for Jerusalem Studies may only visit the Western Wall tunnels once each month.

The Centre for Jerusalem Studies is run by Al-Quds University who has chosen to boycott Israeli academia and institutions. It doesn’t matter that they “may only visit the site once each month”, because their tours have taken place only once in the past 6 months, and twice in 8 days back in February. The tour itself is publicized in the following fashion:

Join us to explore the tunnels excavations that threaten the foundations of Al Aqsa Mosque area. The digs began in 1981 extending from the western wall of Al Aqsa mosque 450 meters northwards to Damascus Gate.  This sparked the Tunnel Intifada of 1996 which led to the martyrdom of over ninety Palestinians

The tunnels are run by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, and are open for all. They have daily tours with their own guides, and are open to any certified guide and group wishing to visit. So if Al-Jazeera really wants to see racist discrimination in Israel, they should ask how many non-Muslim Israelis are allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa. The answer is zero.

Israeli archaeologists maintain that the Noble Sanctuary stands on top of the remains of the Second Temple, a sacred site in Judaism, believed to be a figurative “footstool” for God’s presence.

Again with the “Jews are but a footnote” narrative. It’s THE site of THE temples, THE holiest site in Judaism. It’s not only Israeli archaeologists who say so, but Jewish, Christian and Islamic archaeologists, historians and scriptures. The Noble Sanctuary, in it’s whole, was the podium of the Herodian temple complex.

Some Jewish people believe that the mission of Zionism will not be complete until a Third Temple has been built, and attempts have been made over the centuries to damage the Islamic sites. Excavations in the area have been carried out since digs were led by the British military in the 1970s, in a bid to find the Ark of the Covenant, a long-lost relic said to contain the Ten Commandments.

It’s seems that they came just shy of calling  Denis Michael Rohan a Zionist.

If anyone is trying to damage Islamic sites, it’s actually the Muslims themselves. Saudi Arabia is destroying ancient sites to build lavish new 5 star hotels. Historic mosques are being fired upon in Syria. Israel has always preserved it’s Islamic heritage, from Mosques to bazaars, cisterns and minarets.

It also looks like Al-Jazeera got their centuries wrong, as well as the fact the early archaeological work in Jerusalem was done by individuals like Charles Wilson, and not as a systematic military campaign.

Some Palestinians view the archaeological claims, as well as the Jewish-led tours, as an excuse to bolster Israeli claims to the area and continue the segregation of the Palestinians.

Some Palestinians also think blowing up buses is cool. Some Palestinians might also want to read a few paragraphs up, where it is explained that anyone, of any religion or nationality, can visit the site. Archaeological claims, as opposed to hearsay, are written and published in academic and scientific fashion. While it is true that there are those who deem Archaeology in Jerusalem as political tool, they often tend to ignore the archaeological finds and data, and focus solely on the political part.

At the depths of the tunnel lies the Western Stone, one of the largest stone blocks used for construction anywhere in the world. Israeli archaeologists say it is the rampart wall of the Second Temple, but tour guide Abu Shamsie claims there is no direct proof of this.

“The stone was never cited in any descriptions in ancient literature. It could have easily been a part of other giant structures known to exist at the time, like a hippodrome or amphitheatre,” he said.

According to the tour guide, no archaeological claim is certain in the tunnels. There are ancient pools said to have been used for ritual purification, and ancient archways thought to have supported an elevated road up to the Second Temple’s main entrance.

I can sum up these 3 paragraphs with typical Arab nihilism. Never mind the Archaeology, the peer reviewed and debated articles, theses and decades old research. If some obscure tour guide says it, it must be true.

First of all, lack of evidence is not evidence of lack. Secondly, it’s clear this tour guide should reimburse his customers (150 Shekels, what a rip-off!), because he’s just plain wrong. Never mind the sound archaeological evidence for the stone being part of the Western Wall of the Herodian podium, It’s actually the written accords of Josephus about a stadium and Theatre in Jerusalem that are lacking evidence. So much so, that the Israel Museum scrapped the stadium when they moved the 2nd temple period Jerusalem model some years back.

The “ancient pools” are Mikva’ot, and that is one of the most profound archaeological evidence of Jewish presence in ancient Israel. No one in their right mind would build a water cistern full of steps that minimizes what precious amounts of water can be stored. The  elevated archway, though its exact plan is debatable, did without a doubt exist.

An elaborate model has been constructed to show visitors what Israeli archaeologists believe the Second Temple to have looked like.

When Benjamin Mazar began digging up old Jerusalem in 1968, after its 17-year-long occupation by Jordan, he had a brilliant Dutch architect, Dr. Leen Ritmeyer. He has created over the years some of the best models of the Temple Mount and wrote numerous booksabout the archaeology of the site. This is what he believes the Temple Mount looked like.

Click for larger image

What we have in this picture editorial is the typical Al Jazeera editorial guidelines, pushing clearly biased anti Israel memes over and over again. Instead of poor baker, poor shepherd, or poor unemployed man, we have poor oppressed tour guide, who’s tours are just political camp for the idiot Westerner, funded by an anti-Israel organization. This is not reporting, this is intentional propaganda.

As for the pictures: