>The Jerusalem Post has announced that archeologists have found the Second Temple quarry, the same quarry that Herod used in the construction of the Second Temple. The following is an excerpt of the news report:

An ancient quarry where King Herod’s workers chiseled huge high-quality limestones for the construction of the Second Temple, including the Western Wall, has been uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday.

The quarry, which is located four kilometers northwest of the Old City of Jerusalem in the city’s outlying Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, was used 2,000 years ago by dozens of King Herod’s workers at the site during the construction of the Second Temple walls, archeologist Yuval Baruch said.

“This unique and sensational find is the first Second Temple quarry ever found,” he said.

Read the article by clicking here.

The article describes the process of quarrying the stones used in the construction of the Temple. Since the site of the quarry is located near Arab land, and it is private property, it is possible that any further attempt at excavating at the site will intensify the bitter controversy between Jews and Arabs over recent Arab work on the Temple Mount.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Second Temple, Temple Mount