Strata: News on the Web

018

Unsightly Repairs to Temple Mount; Muslim Cemetery Expanded

An “archaeological tragedy”—that is how The Jerusalem Post describes the current state of the Temple Mount.

Excavation and construction on the Temple Mount over the past 10 years by the Muslim Waqf led to a bulge—first noticed in 2000—in the southern retaining wall. A Jordanian team was called in to repair it. This has now been completed, leaving an unsightly splotch on the wall. In 2004 another bulge appeared, this time in the eastern wall. The repairs to this bulge are being supervised by a joint Jordanian-Egyptian team. A section of the wall is covered by scaffolding.

Muslim cemeteries are also encroaching along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount near the so-called “straight joint,” effectively Islamicizing this area so as to make it unavailable for archaeological excavation. Read more about this situation and see photos at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/TempleWall.

Excavations Uncover Plaza and Street near Siloam Pool

Fallen column drums and bases, as well as steps leading to an elegant plaza were recently uncovered by archaeologists Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron near the Siloam Pool, where Jesus cured the blind man, according to the New Testament. After purifying themselves in the Siloam Pool, pilgrims would have walked through the plaza to a street that leads to the Temple Mount. See photos of the steps from the pool to the plaza, the plaza pavement with a unique, elegant drain, the remains of the columns and the newly discovered street at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/SiloamStreet.

Hanan Eshel’s Real Crime

He publishes looted antiquities. Read the story at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/HananEshel.