Israeli archaeologists have discovered the quarry that supplied the massive stones used in the construction of the Second Temple compound, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced yesterday

At a press conference yesterday, IAA representatives presented its discovery of the ancient quarry, covering more than five dunams, in the course of salvage excavations ahead of a municipal construction project in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. While dozens of quarries have been discovered over the years in the Jerusalem region, the uniqueness of the one in Ramat Shlomo lies in the enormous size of the rocks quarried there. These measured between 5 and 8 meters in length, like the stones preserved in the lower parts of the Temple Mount and compound walls.