A Large Stone Quarry used to build Temple walls Exposed in Excavations

IMRA ^ | 7-6-09

[SJackson]

A Large Stone Quarry used to build Temple walls Exposed in Excavations

Press Release

Monday July 6, 2009

A Large Stone Quarry from the End of the Second Temple Period was Exposed in
Excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is Conducting on Shmuel HaNavi
Street in Jerusalem

Dr. Ofer Sion, the excavation director, estimates, "The stones that were
quarried here were used by Herod to build the walls of the Temple".

An ancient quarry, c. 1 dunam in area and dating to the end of the Second
Temple period (c. 2,030 years old), was uncovered in excavations being
conducted on Shmuel HaNavi Street in Jerusalem, under the direction of Dr.
Ofer Sion and Yehuda Rapuano of the Israel Antiquities Authority, prior to
the construction of residential buildings.

Dr. Ofer Sion, the excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities
Authority, believes, "The immense size of the stones (maximum dimensions:
length 3 m, width 2 m, height 2 m) indicates it was highly likely that the
large stones that were quarried at the site were destined for use in the
construction of Herod's magnificent projects in Jerusalem, including the
Temple walls. It seems that a vast number of workers labored in the quarry
where various size stones were produced: first they quarried small stones
and when the bedrock surface was made level they hewed the large stones. The
stones were quarried by creating wide detachment channels that were marked
by means of a chisel which weighed c. 2.5 kilograms. After the channels were
formed the stones were severed from the bedrock using hammers and chisels".

"We know from historical sources that in order to build the Temple and other
projects which Herod constructed, such as his palace, hundreds of thousands
of various size stones were required - most of them weighing between two and
five tons each", said Dr. Sion. "The dimensions of the stones that were
produced in the quarry that was revealed are suitable for the Temple walls.
The large section that was exposed is actually a small part of an enormous
series of quarries that was spread across the entire slope - from the
Musrara Quarter to the Sanhedria Quarter. The massive quarrying effort, on
the order of hundreds of thousands of stones, lowered the topography of
Jerusalem in the vicinity of the Old City. Today, with the exposure of this
quarry, the intensity of the building projects as described in the
historical sources can be proven: Flavius Josephus wrote that before Herod
built the Temple he prepared the infrastructure for it: the quarrying of the
Temple's stones lasted eight whole years. The Temple itself was built in a
relatively short period of time of two years. With the exposure of the
quarries in Sanhedria and Ramat Shlomo, it is clear that Herod began
quarrying closest to the Temple and worked away from it: first he exploited
the stone on the nearby ridges and subsequently he moved on to quarry in
more distant regions".

According to Dr. Sion, "In those days the world of hi-tech focused on
quarrying, removing and transporting stones. Historical sources record that
Herod trained more than 10,000 people to be involved in this work: they
prepared suitable transportation routes and then moved the huge stones in a
variety of ways - on rolling wooden fixtures that were drawn by camels, in
pieces on carriages, etc.

Among the artifacts that were discovered in the excavation on Shmuel HaNaiv
Street were metal plates (referred to in the Talmud as 'cheeks') that were
used as fulcrums to severe the stones from the bedrock, and coins and
pottery sherds that date to the end of the Second Temple period (the first
century BCE).

Click here to download pictures:

www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14

1. The quarry. Photographic credit: Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the
Israel Antiquities Authority.

2. This afternoon an aerial photograph of the quarry will be available
for downloading by clicking on this link. Photographic credit: Skyview
Company, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

For further information, kindly contact:

Ofer Sion, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities
Authority, 972-52-5991733, or Yoli Shwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority
Spokesperson, 972-52-5991888, dovrut@israntique.org.il

[SJackson]

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[Dustbunny]

Wow, that is so neat.

[theBuckwheat]

The entire Muslim world will become more agitated than ever before when the Jews start to build the Third Temple. See: http://www.templemountfaithful.org/

[1curiousmind]

I preached a sermon years ago entitled: “The Stones Will Cry Out.”

I believe that during his triumphal entry towards Jerusalem (celebrated on Palm Sunday) Jesus’s famous line, “If these be silent, the stones will cry out” has been wrongly interpreted.

I think he was not referring simply to the stones underfoot, but to the massive stones of the temple wall and temple itself.

His point was clear...”Everything in Judaism points to me! Without my coming and my death and resurrection (which will happen in a few short days) all of this means nothing. The temple sacrifices point to my sacrifice. Do not miss the significance of this moment.”

Ironically, He knew they would miss it. They had to miss it. They had to reject Him in order for Him to die. Without His death and resurrection, the temple was left with a gaping hole in the roof.

PS 118:22 “The stone the builder’s rejected has become the capstone”(i.e. the final, oddly shaped stone, that just didn’t fit, now turns out to be the perfect stone that completes the building).

What an awesome God.

[TXnMA]

Heads up!

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

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