Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

The Temple, Found?
Friday, February 9, 2007

Here we go: News of the archaeology proxy war between Israelis and Palestinians intensified today, and my email box is proof. A reader writes to link this story:

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.

The reader adds: If further studies prove it to be true, I doubt either side would be willing to share the site. I think it would be just another example of the 'all or none' philosophy that seems to control religious thought today.

Labels: Biblical Archaeology, Middle East

Posted by B Feiler at 2:29 PM
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1 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Lest we think the problems at the Temple Mount have subsided, the following links illustrate that it is still simmering and waiting for the next round to start.
I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to live in a country that has to answer to the world for every undertaking it tries. In a country, where every shovelful of dirt could reveal an new insight to our understanding of history, the very act of digging a garden could be politically explosive. It makes me wonder if I lived there and made a discovery on my property if I would reveal it for fear of all the potential fallout.

Haaretz - Feb. 15, 2007
PM agrees to let Turkey inspect Jerusalem dig site
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/826222.html

Court extends restraining order barring Salah from Old City
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/826210.html

The Temple Mount - The fire next time
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleNews.jhtml?itemNo=824390&contrassID=13&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0

Jerusalem - Post Feb. 14,2007
Q&A on the Temple Mount with Dr. Eilat Mazar
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359857094&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israel Insider Feb. 13, 2007
The myth of Al Aqsa mosque
http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/10662.htm; February 15, 2007 11:09:00 AM EST