The Temple Mount Sifting Project

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was the location of the First and Second Temples during Biblical times. According to Jewish tradition, it is also the location of the story of the binding of Isaac, and the location of the Foundation Stone from which the whole world was created.2

When the Temple stood in all its glory, the Temple Mount functioned as the center of all political, social and economical life. The whole culture of Jewish nation drew its sacredness and meaning from the Temple and its location. Even after the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 CE, the Temple Mount still remains the focal point of the prayers of the entire Jewish nation. 3

Today, the site is the location of two Muslim buildings: the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.4

In 1967 after the Six Day War, although the site came back under the sovereignty of Israel, the day-to-day control of the site in the hands of the Waqf, the Muslim Trust. 5

In spite of the Temple Mounts major role in the history of the land of Israel, until recently, the archaeological research of the site was blank. The Waqf, which manages the area, has never allowed any archaeological excavations to take place at the site. For this reason every fragment of archaeological information from within the site is very significant in terms of archaeological and historical research.6

During the years 1996-1999, the Muslims decided to create facts on the ground in order to prevent Israel from demanding any vacant space or cavity for Jewish use. They converted Solomon's Stables, a Medieval Period structure with remnants from the Second Temple period, into a mosque. The work was done without proper building permits and with no archaeological supervision.7

The climax of the archaeological destruction was when the construction workers, under the authority of the Waqf, dug a huge pit with heavy machinery in one and a half days. If the area had been excavated properly by archaeologists, the job may have taken many years. Once archaeological artifacts are excavated without attention to their strata and exact location, they lose their archaeological context. Also the bulldozers severely crushed many of the artifacts.8

The debris from this dig was then dumped in a municipal garbage site and in an illegal dump in the nearby Kidron Valley. In this operation between 300 and 400 truckloads of artifact-laden earth were removed from the Temple Mount.9

The Israeli Antiquities Authority, meanwhile, tried to hide the story from the news media and from the archaeological community. Zachi Zweig & Aran Yardeni, two archaeology students from Bar-Ilan University, decided to act.

Zachi ZweigAran Yardeni10They organized an archaeological survey at the dump in the Kidron Valley, but just as they began collecting artifacts, they were stopped by inspectors from the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

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The students managed to retrieve a few artifacts from the dump and displayed them at a conference about new studies on Jerusalem. Their report was followed by a storm in the conference hall. The Antiquities Authority claimed these students are antiquities robbers, but all the archaeologists in attendance deeply supported them and protested against the archaeological destruction of the Temple Mount.

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13A few days later Zachi Zweig's house was raided by the Antiquities Authority theft unit, and he was detained by the police and accused of conducting antiquities robbery. Charges were pressed against him, but the court quickly dismissed the charges, and asked the prosecution to set aside their accusations.

14The exposure of the story resulted in the establishment of The Committee for the Prevention of Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount. The Committee created a petition that was signed by representatives of many Israeli prominent figures from all wings of Israeli politics: 82 members of the Knesset, famous authors, mayors, former army Generals, and former judges, just to name a few. Never in the history of Zionism had there been such a wide consensus among those who signed a political document. Even Israels Declaration of Independence didnt garner such a consensus.

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Prof. Gabriel Barkay, one of Israels most senior archaeologists, supported the students efforts, joined forces with Zachi Zweig, and together they began working towards the establishment of a project for systematically sifting the debris from the Temple Mount.Since the Temple Mount has never been excavated, the artifacts retrieved from the debris could still provide valuable information, even though they are out of context. Most artifacts can be identified and dated by comparison with artifacts found elsewhere in Israel. In addition, since the material is from the Temple Mount, it was expected that many unique artifacts would be found.

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After many bureaucratic difficulties lasting five long years, Barkay and Zweig finally received a license from the Israeli Antiquities Authority for the sifting of the Temple Mount debris in the fall of 2004. After being given permission to use a site in the Zurim Valley National Park on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, they began transferring the artifact-laden earth from the illegal Kidron Valley dump to the new location. 17Never in the history of archaeological research has such a huge volume of earth been sifted. New methods had to be developed to retrieve the artifacts from the debris so as to study them. The material goes through a process of dry sifting, soaking in water, wet sifting, artifact collection, and sorting.

18At the beginning of the project, many groups who heard about it offered their help, and we soon realized that one of the major finds of the project was actually the people involved. The story of the project and the work at the site has had a major impact on the volunteers who experience a tangible connection to their heritage and the story of Temple Mount.

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More than 100,000 people have volunteered in the project! No such archaeological excavation in the world had so many people participate in it. This phenomenon is beautifully described in Psalms Thou wilt arise, and have compassion upon Zion; for it is time to be gracious unto her, for the appointed time is come: For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and love her dust (Psalms 102:14-15). 20After sifting 30% of the material, working seven years, aided by more than 100,000 volunteers, and finding tens of thousands of artifacts, we can now estimate the great significance of the project and summarize our goals as follows:

To try to save as many artifacts as possible from destruction To shed more light on the historical accounts of the Temple Mount by studying the remains of its material culture To conduct quantitative analysis of the prevalent artifacts (pottery shards, bones, etc.) by using statistical control groups from samples from other sites in ancient Jerusalem. To engage in the education of the general public by giving them an opportunity to participate in Exploring the past of the Temple Mount Taking responsibility for repairing an archaeological atrocity Experiencing a tangible connection to the Temples that once stood on the Temple Mount Learning the basic concepts of archaeology through a short workshop

21Some Selected Finds22

So far we have recovered more than 5,000 coins, but it took about two weeks to find our first coin. After we cleaned the coin of all the corrosion attached to it, we were thrilled to find that it was inscribed /, For the Freedom of Zion. This is very symbolic, since we are trying to rescue artifacts destroyed in the dirt of Mount Zion.23

Jewish Coins from the Second Temple Period24

Coins from Various Periods (Hellenistic, Roman, Early Moslem, Crusader, 19th Century) 25

Badges from World War I (1914-1917)26

Ottoman Glazed Wall TilesRemove from the Dome of the Rock27

Arrowheads from the Medieval Period28

Early Islamic Gilded Glass Tesserae Stones Removed from Dome of the Rock Mosaics29

Early Islamic Inscribed Glass Weights

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Architectural Fragments from the Byzantine Period

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A Unique Tiny Roman flask32

Roman Dice33

Clay Statuette of a Goats Head from the Roman Period34

Roman Arrowheads from the Great Revolt against the Roman Empire (66-70 CE)35

Floor Tiles of the Opus Sectile Technique which Covered the Courtyard of the Temple Mount during the Herodian Period36

A Column Capital of the Doric Order (may have been part of the Royal Stoa of the Temple Mount)37

Fragment of Sculptured Stone Engraved with an Acanthus Leaf in Herodian Style (may have been from the Temple itself!)38

Silver Half-Shekel CoinObverse: A chalice from the Temple topped by the letter aleph, which means "First Year of the Great Revolt". Around the perimeter is inscribed Half a Shekel. Reverse: A stem with three pomegranates surrounded by the words Holy Jerusalem.

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Coin of Antiochus IV Epiphanies, the King in the Story of Hanukkah40

Scytho-Iranian ArrowheadThe type used by Nebuchadnezzars Babylonian army that destroyed the First Temple in 586 BCE41

Fragments of Figurines from the First Temple PeriodThe fractures, interestingly, appear to date to ancient times42

Fragment of an Inscription on a Pottery Shard (the Hebrew letter mem)43

Stone Weights from the First Temple Period44

A Hebrew Bulla This bulla made of clay was originally attached to a parcel of silver or gold. The bulla is incomplete and a possible completion of the writing could be "[]/[] ", Belonging to Gaalyahu son of Imer. The house of Imer was a well-known priestly family at the end of the First Temple Period. This is a direct reference to an individual known to be associated with the Temple Mount from the days of the Kings of Judah. Although tens of bullae have been found in the past in the City of David, this is the first time that an inscribed item from the First Temple Period was found on the Temple Mount itself.

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First Temple Period Seal with the Design of a Horned Gazelle46

Although we have been working for more than seven years and have recovered tens of thousands of artifacts, we still have much work ahead of us. A better understanding of the finds will come only after proper scientific analysis and publication.

Please take part in this effort to save the Temple Mount antiquities and help us publish the valuable archaeological information about the Temple Mount that we have recovered. For more information about the project and how to make a donation, please contact us at tmsifting@gmail.com47