Last update - 00:00 15/02/2007
Jewish group cites 'destructive' activities on Temple Mount
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Photographs taken in recent weeks along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount reveal piles of ancient stones from various periods, including decorated and dressed stones and broken columns, mixed in with recent waste and building materials. The findings are spread around large areas of the eastern wall of the Mount, in the area of Solomon's Stables and the Golden Gate.
The Temple Mount Faithful, which publicized the photographs Wednesday after receiving copies of them, claims that some of the stones are remains from the Second Temple. The attorney for the movement, Naftali Wurzberger, has sent letters to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Jerusalem District Police Chief Ilan Franco demanding an immediate investigation and legal action against those responsible "for the destructive activities at the site."
Dr. Eilat Mazar, one of the leaders of the Committee for the Prevention of Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, said after being asked by Haaretz to look at the photos that similar piles have been lying along the eastern wall, particularly near Solomon's Stables, for some time but that the photos are of new material, ancient stones that had not been there previously.
Mazar said the photos clearly show ancient stones from various periods that are of great significance and which have been thrown together haphazardly. She emphasized that a High Court of Justice ruling explicitly prohibits any changes to the stones at the site without prior archaeological examination, and demanded Antiquities Authority supervision of the Temple Mount.