Pinpointing the origins of Jerusalem's Temple Mount

EurekAlert! ^ | June 3, 2020 | PLOS

[SunkenCiv]

Integrating radiocarbon dating and microarchaeology techniques has enabled more precise dating of the ancient Wilson's Arch monument at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to a study published June 3, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Johanna Regev from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and colleagues...

To better understand the specific timing of Wilson's Arch (and the historical context in which it was constructed), Regev and colleagues used an integrative approach in the field during its excavation, conducting radiocarbon dating of 33 construction material samples directly at the site (generally charred organic matter, like seeds or sticks, present in mortar), as well as stratigraphic and microarchaeological analyses.

The authors were able to narrow the dates of construction for the initial Great Causeway bridge structure as having occurred between 20 BC and 20 AD, during the reign of Herod the Great or directly after his death. They also discovered a second stage of construction: between 30 AD and 60 AD, the bridge doubled in size as Wilson's Arch in its current form was finalized (during this period of direct Roman rule, there's evidence the Romans began or expanded on many building projects around Jerusalem, including an aqueduct supplying the Temple Mount with water).

[SunkenCiv]

Wilson's Arch excavation area. (A) Map of the old city of Jerusalem and the location Wilson's Arch. Copyrights: Israel Antiquities Authority, 2020. (B) An artistic reconstruction of the Temple Mount in the time of Herod the Great (1st century AD). The arrow points to the arch known today as Wilson's Arch. Copyrights: Ritmeyer Archaeological Design, 2020. (C,D) Photographs of the site. The scale bar in D is 1 meter in length. (E,F) A 3D reconstruction of the site. As the site is under constant renovations, a model is used here to illustrate the location of the various features and strata. A section drawing of strata 1,4,5 was imposed on the Western Wall to illustrate their relative position. Credit: Regev et al, 2020 (PLOS ONE, CC BY 4.0)

[SunkenCiv]

[Bob Ireland]

***Pinpointing the origins of Jerusalem's Temple Mount***

Fascinating. Of course the author means 'the origins of Herod's temple Mount'. The Temple Mount goes way way back to at least the time of Abraham.

Captain Charles Wilson did a survey of Jerusalem in 1886. The arch bearing his name indicates that it was an elevated causeway with many shops underneath - a main approach to the Temple Mount.
I am not familiar with this EurekAlert source; the graphic leaves many questions unanswered. I wish I had the time. sigh