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حيث وجدوا حفرة كبيرة في جبل الهيكل وذلك خلال الأشهر أكتوبر 1999 -- يناير 2000 بطول 50 مترا وعرض 25 مترا وعمق 12 مترا ، وقد ظنوا أنها ترجع إلى عهد الملك سليمان وعثروا على بعض القطع الأثرية والتي ظنوا أنها تعود إليه ولكن بالبحث اتضح لهم أنها تعود إلى العهد العثماني. ويجزم الباحث في أن الكثير من القطع مجهولة الهوية والتي تعود إلى الـ 600 سنة الماضية ،ويؤكد في أكثر من مرة إلى أن بعض الأواني الفخارية والقطع الأثرية والتي عثروا عليها إنما ترجع إلى العديد من المسلمين في أواخر العصر العثماني.ويشير إلى أن المقصود باستطبلات سليمان والمشهورة في أدبيات اليهود إنما مرجعها إلى الملك الصليبي . The Crusader King Baldwin بالدوين , وليس مرجعها إلي الملك سليمان وإنما الذي بناها هو الخليفة الأموي سليمان بن عبد الملك. وتكونت هذه الحفرة بعد وقوع الزلزال الكبير في 1033 م..
وإليكم الدراسة:
10/3/00
(Updated: 29/8/00)
The Pit
During the months October 1999 - January 2000 a huge hole, 50 meters long, 25 meters wide and 12 meters deep, was dug in the Temple Mount. The hole is located to the north of the underground substructure known as 'Solomon's Stables' (see Figure 1) This structure is a row of subterranean halls, which are located at the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount, and enclosed by the external wall of the Mount. Their length is about 80 meters, from east to west, and they measure some 60 meters from north to south. The crown of vaults reach the height of about 9 meters, and their floor is some 12.5 meters lower than the Temple Mount platform. The ceilings of the halls and their arches are in a north-south direction. Altogether, 13 rows of vaults supported by 88 piers are known.[1] (Figure 2)
This structure was last used by the Crusaders during the Medieval Era. The system of halls was improved in the 12th century by the knightly Order of Solomon's Temple (the Templars), whose members, fighting monks, gave them the name of 'Solomon's Stables'. The Crusader King Baldwin handed the place over to the Knights Templars, and they turned it into stables for their horses. After the big earthquake in the year 1033 C.E, the top of the structure was rebuilt, but no one can confidently date its original construction.
The structure's lower level is 12 meters below the current Temple Mount platform level. At the southeastern corner the mount's bedrock level is at a depth of 30 meters. It is not clear what is under the 'Solomon's Stables'. We do know about an underground corridor lying below the level of the Single Gate (which once led to the 'Solomon Stables'). It is constructed of blocks of, the Herodian style. The corridor ends at its northern extremity before a doorway leading to a structure situated below the 'Solomon's Stables'.[2]
Most scholars suggest that it was founded in the Second Temple period. King Herod built this substructure when he leveled the platform of the Mount. The low level of the southeastern Temple Mount's bedrock would have required a large amount of earth filling that would have put enormous pressure on the Mount's southern wall. So instead of having an earth filling in that area, he built a hollow vaulted substructure. Very little is known regarding the area north of this structure. It is reasonable to assume that this area contains filling carried out by Herod, but we don't know to what level. Was it filled again in the medieval era, after the big earthquake? Or is it stratified earth that contains relics from different periods?
I believe that these questions can be solved by a serious examination of the earth taken out of this hole, even though it is mixed. Dating and measuring the average size of a large sample of the shards from this mix could give us essential data for research of this part of the Temple Mount. From our small sample we have found a relatively significant mount of pottery from each period since the First Temple (Iron II) till the Medieval period (13th Century CE). We collected many shards, but used only the rims for our statistics. This is because it is the easiest pottery part to date. We have managed to collect only 72 rims in the short time we had before we were interrupted. The pottery was dated by 3 respected archaeologists, Dr. Gabriel Barkai, Dr. Aren Maeir and Dr. Dan Bahat. These are our results:

Because we found artifacts that are dated to the Ottoman period. We suspect that many of the unidentified rims are from the last 600 years, but we didn't have time to let a specialist examine it. The fact that we have some pottery and many artifacts from the late Muslim and Ottoman period can indicate that to some depth level the area is stratified, at least till the medieval stratum.
Because of the fact that the 'Solomon's Stables' structure has archways opening to its north we may presume that in the dug-up area there was another structure or a wide square. Because the pit's depth is not lower than the 'Solomons's Stables', especially if the pit ascents from it's maximum depth where its touching the Solomon's Stable floor, anything in this area should not be dated before the foundation date of the structure south to it. No scholar dates the 'Solomon's Stables' to a period before the Second Temple. The findings of Iron Age (First Temple period) pottery in this location can prove that it is from a later fill. According to this we might have suggested, as some others, that the digging was in a late fill, but other evidence makes the picture a bit more complicated.
Policemen on the Mount reported observing the dismantling of a water channel with arches. These arches were seen on the western side of the pit to a depth of 2-3 meters. Evidence for this is seen in the Kidron dumps. There are many masonry stones, some with a notch and some in the shape of arch stones (Figure 3). We are not sure what the relationship was between the water channel and the arch. We do know that it was a completely different arch than those of the 'Solomon's Stables'. Its location may indicate that it is a remnant of some kind of continuation of the underground corridor mentioned above. In addition to this, a month after the survey I got some pictures that were taken during the diggings, after the water channel and arch were dismantled. In these pictures we can see an ancient wall on the east side of the pit. It is located 5 meters from the Eastern wall of the Mount (see Figure 4)[1][1]. Later on, we figured out that this wall is part of a continuation of the eastern vault. This vault is full of debris and the Waqf has begun dismantling it. It is dated to the medieval period. We assume that another continuation of this kind was dismantled, because we saw a pile some medieval pillars in the debris piles on the Mount (See the MKs tour page for pictures of this finds). We also see many masonry stones in the dumps. Other stones with value such as ashlars stones, columns and other findings have been kept on the Mount, and IAA inspectors are forbidden from examining of ************************************************in g them. Some of these can be seen in Figure 5.
Figure 1. Map of the Temple Mount and the digging area


Figure 3. A water channel stone can be seen in the center, and an arch stone can
be seen in the bottom.
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الفرع الرابع
دراسة علماء الآثار الإسرائيليين
وإليكم ملخص الدراسة التي قام بها ثلاثة من علماء الآثار الإسرائيليين وهم:
archaeologists, Dr. Gabriel Barkai, Dr. Aren Maeir and Dr. Dan Bahat.
archaeologists, Dr. Gabriel Barkai, Dr. Aren Maeir and Dr. Dan Bahat.
حيث وجدوا حفرة كبيرة في جبل الهيكل وذلك خلال الأشهر أكتوبر 1999 -- يناير 2000 بطول 50 مترا وعرض 25 مترا وعمق 12 مترا ، وقد ظنوا أنها ترجع إلى عهد الملك سليمان وعثروا على بعض القطع الأثرية والتي ظنوا أنها تعود إليه ولكن بالبحث اتضح لهم أنها تعود إلى العهد العثماني. ويجزم الباحث في أن الكثير من القطع مجهولة الهوية والتي تعود إلى الـ 600 سنة الماضية ،ويؤكد في أكثر من مرة إلى أن بعض الأواني الفخارية والقطع الأثرية والتي عثروا عليها إنما ترجع إلى العديد من المسلمين في أواخر العصر العثماني.ويشير إلى أن المقصود باستطبلات سليمان والمشهورة في أدبيات اليهود إنما مرجعها إلى الملك الصليبي . The Crusader King Baldwin بالدوين , وليس مرجعها إلي الملك سليمان وإنما الذي بناها هو الخليفة الأموي سليمان بن عبد الملك. وتكونت هذه الحفرة بعد وقوع الزلزال الكبير في 1033 م..
وإليكم الدراسة:
What can we learn from this destructive dig?
By Zachi Zweig
10/3/00
(Updated: 29/8/00)
The Pit
During the months October 1999 - January 2000 a huge hole, 50 meters long, 25 meters wide and 12 meters deep, was dug in the Temple Mount. The hole is located to the north of the underground substructure known as 'Solomon's Stables' (see Figure 1) This structure is a row of subterranean halls, which are located at the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount, and enclosed by the external wall of the Mount. Their length is about 80 meters, from east to west, and they measure some 60 meters from north to south. The crown of vaults reach the height of about 9 meters, and their floor is some 12.5 meters lower than the Temple Mount platform. The ceilings of the halls and their arches are in a north-south direction. Altogether, 13 rows of vaults supported by 88 piers are known.[1] (Figure 2)
This structure was last used by the Crusaders during the Medieval Era. The system of halls was improved in the 12th century by the knightly Order of Solomon's Temple (the Templars), whose members, fighting monks, gave them the name of 'Solomon's Stables'. The Crusader King Baldwin handed the place over to the Knights Templars, and they turned it into stables for their horses. After the big earthquake in the year 1033 C.E, the top of the structure was rebuilt, but no one can confidently date its original construction.
The structure's lower level is 12 meters below the current Temple Mount platform level. At the southeastern corner the mount's bedrock level is at a depth of 30 meters. It is not clear what is under the 'Solomon's Stables'. We do know about an underground corridor lying below the level of the Single Gate (which once led to the 'Solomon Stables'). It is constructed of blocks of, the Herodian style. The corridor ends at its northern extremity before a doorway leading to a structure situated below the 'Solomon's Stables'.[2]
Most scholars suggest that it was founded in the Second Temple period. King Herod built this substructure when he leveled the platform of the Mount. The low level of the southeastern Temple Mount's bedrock would have required a large amount of earth filling that would have put enormous pressure on the Mount's southern wall. So instead of having an earth filling in that area, he built a hollow vaulted substructure. Very little is known regarding the area north of this structure. It is reasonable to assume that this area contains filling carried out by Herod, but we don't know to what level. Was it filled again in the medieval era, after the big earthquake? Or is it stratified earth that contains relics from different periods?
I believe that these questions can be solved by a serious examination of the earth taken out of this hole, even though it is mixed. Dating and measuring the average size of a large sample of the shards from this mix could give us essential data for research of this part of the Temple Mount. From our small sample we have found a relatively significant mount of pottery from each period since the First Temple (Iron II) till the Medieval period (13th Century CE). We collected many shards, but used only the rims for our statistics. This is because it is the easiest pottery part to date. We have managed to collect only 72 rims in the short time we had before we were interrupted. The pottery was dated by 3 respected archaeologists, Dr. Gabriel Barkai, Dr. Aren Maeir and Dr. Dan Bahat. These are our results:

Because we found artifacts that are dated to the Ottoman period. We suspect that many of the unidentified rims are from the last 600 years, but we didn't have time to let a specialist examine it. The fact that we have some pottery and many artifacts from the late Muslim and Ottoman period can indicate that to some depth level the area is stratified, at least till the medieval stratum.
Because of the fact that the 'Solomon's Stables' structure has archways opening to its north we may presume that in the dug-up area there was another structure or a wide square. Because the pit's depth is not lower than the 'Solomons's Stables', especially if the pit ascents from it's maximum depth where its touching the Solomon's Stable floor, anything in this area should not be dated before the foundation date of the structure south to it. No scholar dates the 'Solomon's Stables' to a period before the Second Temple. The findings of Iron Age (First Temple period) pottery in this location can prove that it is from a later fill. According to this we might have suggested, as some others, that the digging was in a late fill, but other evidence makes the picture a bit more complicated.
Policemen on the Mount reported observing the dismantling of a water channel with arches. These arches were seen on the western side of the pit to a depth of 2-3 meters. Evidence for this is seen in the Kidron dumps. There are many masonry stones, some with a notch and some in the shape of arch stones (Figure 3). We are not sure what the relationship was between the water channel and the arch. We do know that it was a completely different arch than those of the 'Solomon's Stables'. Its location may indicate that it is a remnant of some kind of continuation of the underground corridor mentioned above. In addition to this, a month after the survey I got some pictures that were taken during the diggings, after the water channel and arch were dismantled. In these pictures we can see an ancient wall on the east side of the pit. It is located 5 meters from the Eastern wall of the Mount (see Figure 4)[1][1]. Later on, we figured out that this wall is part of a continuation of the eastern vault. This vault is full of debris and the Waqf has begun dismantling it. It is dated to the medieval period. We assume that another continuation of this kind was dismantled, because we saw a pile some medieval pillars in the debris piles on the Mount (See the MKs tour page for pictures of this finds). We also see many masonry stones in the dumps. Other stones with value such as ashlars stones, columns and other findings have been kept on the Mount, and IAA inspectors are forbidden from examining of ************************************************in g them. Some of these can be seen in Figure 5.
This evidence undoubtedly proves that the digging destroyed ancient structures. We still need to explain these structures in relation to the pottery that was taken out of the pit. The only explanation I can think of is that these structures were built some time between the Second Temple period and the Muslim period. Then, after the big earthquake in 1033 CE, some structures fell apart and the area was later filled by earth. It is most probable that the fill was taken from the north part of the Temple Mount, which was on a higher ground level, and is the easiest location to carry the earth from. This fill is covered with some thin stratified layers from the medieval period till the present.
Figure 1. Map of the Temple Mount and the digging area


Figure 3. A water channel stone can be seen in the center, and an arch stone can
be seen in the bottom.
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