Jerusalem archeology update

Some interesting discoveries, as well as some lively controversy:

An immense bedrock cliff uncovered opposite Jerusalem's Temple Mount may help explain why it took the Romans so long to capture what is now known as the Jewish Quarter almost two millenia ago, an Israeli archeologist said Sunday.

The cliff, uncovered during a year-long excavation at the western edge of the Western Wall Plaza, was one of several important finds that include the remains of a colonnaded street called the Eastern Cardo, dating from the Roman-Byzantine period; a section of the Lower Aqueduct that conveyed water from Solomon's Pools to the Temple Mount; and a damaged rock-hewn and plastered Jewish mikve (ritual bath) that dates back to the Second Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced at a press conference.

The dig, which was conducted in an area that had not been excavated before due to plans for construction, also served to clarify the height of an immense bedrock cliff that separated the Upper City from the Temple Mount area. It in itself is "the most impressive" find, said Shlomit Wexler-Bedolah, the excavation director.

Wexler-Bedolah said the cliff's topography could help explain the slow Roman conquest, noting that it took the Roman army an entire month from the time they destroyed the Temple Mount on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av until they captured the ground of today's Jewish Quarter on the 10th day of the following month.

From the Jerusalem Post. An Israeli government press release about the excavations may be found here, while this article focuses more on the ancient watercourses:

The new archaeological find uncovers a missing link in the ancient water system, known as the "Lower Aqueduct." This system channeled water from Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem (located several miles south of Jerusalem) directly to the national focal point of Jewish worship - the Temple Mount.

Solomon’s pools, situated just north of the modern Jewish town of Efrat, cover an area of about 7 acres and can hold three million gallons of water. A lengthy aqueduct conveyed the water from the lowest pool through Bethlehem, across the Gihon valley, along the western slope of the Tyropoeon valley, and into the cisterns underneath the Temple Mount. Today, the water from the pools reaches only Bethlehem due to the destruction of the aqueducts.

Meanwhile, not all of the Antiquities Authorities' doings are meeting with approval:

The planned construction of a new bridge leading through an archeological garden to the Mughrabi Gate near the Western Wall has incurred stinging criticism from dozens of senior archeologists in Israel, officials said Sunday.

The bridge, which is being built by the Israel Antiquities Authority, will replace the temporary walkway constructed more than a year ago at the women's section of the Wall after the original stone ramp to the Mughrabi Gate was removed, having been deemed unsafe by engineers.

The new bridge, which has received a green light from the city's planning committee and the blessing of the rabbi of the Western Wall, is slated to tower above the archeological garden next to the site and will be supported by as many as eight pylons anchored in that garden, Jerusalem district archeologist Yuval Baruch said Sunday. . .

The site, located outside the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, has been deemed one of the world's most significant archeological parks.

The plan to construct the new bridge straight through the archeological garden has provoked fierce opposition by archeologists, who say that the bridge will inevitably damage antiquities.

Posted by David on January 16, 2007 1:38 PM