Archaeologists find link to 1st temple in controversial J'lem dig

i do strongly believe that we must protect the Israeli rights and properties at all cost. Israel belongs to Jews, not palestinians.

Ivar, Plutarch, on his travels throughout the Roman Empire records the time he was in Jerusalem and the Temple was one of the "must sees" for anyone to visit. Other than that, they found any number of Ritual Baths required for Purfication for those who wanted to get to the Temple precincts in the layers that lie below the Temple compound. That there was building on the site, that the Moslems covered large sections of the Western Wall to build the "Moslem Quarter" after they chased the Crusaders out, well, what can I tell ya'. The more you try to discredit Jewish claims, the more the proofs keep comin' in.

ever notice how they refer to 'pharaoh' as if they didnt have names,so no dating can occur. david and solomon; pure myth like jesus. check jesusneverexisted.com. arent the amelikites eligible for reparations?

As an evangelical Christian, I believe the Bible, including what we refer to as the Old Testament. I believe that Israel is truly the apple of God's eye, and that he will keep his promises. God bless all Israel and please understand that you are not alone this time. If the Muslims, who tried to help Hitler destroy the Jews when they joined with him (there were many Muslims in the Nazi SS) try to destroy the Jews again, this time, they'll have true Christians to contend with. There have always been Jews living in Jerusalem. As far as placement of the Temple Mount, I would think that the traditions of the people living there would be more believable than the word of late-comers.

Right. Just like Mohammed took a trip to the Dome of the Rock...the "farthest mosque"....which didn't even exist until years after he died!!!!!

This only goes to prove that Muslims continue to subscribe to the addage that you tell the lie long enough it becomes truth. It is an idea birthed in hell itsself and yet futher proof that the enemies of the, only true and wise God, that of Israel, will continue to try and discredit Him and His Word. The willfull stupidity and ignorance of belivers of this nonsense, knows no bounds.

Your hammer is made of paper mache. The only mythology here is that of a sex-crazed, murderer who forced a Rabbi and a priest to write a fabrication called a koran, before he killed them. If Mecca and Medina are your so-called holy sites, then I suggest you all go there while a cruise missile puts an end to your lies and confusion. The BIBLE is the ONLY true Word of the Living God, creator of heavens and Earth, and those who try to ADD, or DETRACT from it inherit all the curses. EL ELOHE ISRAEL, says the GOD OF ISRAEL. It is forever HIS LAND, and the TWELVE TRIBES of ISRAEL are the ONLY inheritance therein. You are welcome to JOIN them as a peaceful stranger, but DON'T TRY to come against HIS WILL. Remember, there were promised BLESSING to the WHOLE EIGHT SONS of ABRAHAM IF they acknowledged HIS GOD. Your pagan god of the MOON and the SWORD are an abomination to HIM. Jews do NOT kill innocents with bombs. You have a psychological disease if you follow Islam.

Yes, MEIR KAHANE was RIGHT, that is why the Islamo-fascists murdered him, and the Kache party was discriminated against by Israel. FEAR of retalliation by a crazed Arab causes APPPEASEMENT. Where are the JOSHUA's and CALEB's of this generation? All the JEWS MUST make ALIYAH soon, before the ANTI-SEMITISM engulfs the whole world. BEWARE the ISLAMIC CULT. THEY have told us, FIRST the Saturday people , as well as the Sunday people they intend to destroy. WAKE UP ISRAEL and RETURN TO YOUR GOD.

The real site of the 2nd Temple is in the vacant area to the NORTH of the Abomination of Desolation- the gold domed Islamic cult building- as has been initially proven by infra-red photography of my friend. Probably a misguided scud missile from Syria will destroy it before Damascus is destroyed (ISAIAH 17:1) The NEXT WAR against Israel will be bigger than any previous one, because of American pressure to further divide G-D's Land. Otherwise I agree 100% with your comment. BARUCH HABA BASHEM ADONAI

Josephus only affirms that "cloisters" came up to Antonia, adjoining Antonia. Presumably these had some affinity with the Temple, unless they were affiliated with Antonia, the other possibility. Otherwise, Josephus, as I pointed out, makes a case for hundreds of metres of space between Antonia and the Temple. By "Temple" I mean the Holy of Holies, the geographical center of the Temple complex. And my original links, written by various authors, argue the case for a Gihon spring location, including the eyewitness testimony of Herod Agrippa.

How small do you think the Mount is? I'm not saying there's a support in Josephus to say 1/2 Km, but just to use your own numbers for the sake of arguument. Of course there was a courtyard outside the Temple. But the Temple "Azarah" courts and building both count as parts of the Temple Mount and compound. Your distinction between the Mount and the Temple Mount if artificial. The next possible Mount is Mt. Zion, at a higher elevation, and more than a KM to the southwest. Obviously that's not where the Temple was. Gihon is also more than a KM from Antonia, and you can't see it from Antonia. It can't be where the Temple was either. Josephus was saying that as soon as the Romans left Antonia, they were in the courtyard.

Build the third temple, now! We all know that this is the site of the first and second temples, but it is now a place where idolatry and evil reigns.

I do not deny that the outer peripheries of Herod's Temple, parts of some of the "cloisters" referred to by Josephus in his Book 6 of his Jewish Wars overlapped the boundaries of the present "Temple Mount" erected by Justinian in the 6th century. Josephus reports "cloisters" adjoining the city walls, some of which extended to Antonia itself. Yet that the distance from Antonia downhill to the Temple exceeded .5 km is sustained by the fact that it was out of light catapult horizontal range (.3km), AND the fact that Titus sent his ENTIRE army (if only the reported 30% cream of it) between Antonia and the Temple to surround the Temple. That required several hundred meters of space around the Temple, easily locating the Temple beyond the current south wall of Justinian's Temple Mount. 6.2.9. In the mean time, the Jews were so distressed by the fights they had been in, as the war advanced higher and higher, and creeping up to the holy house itself, that they, as it were, cut off those limbs of their body which were infected, in order to prevent the distemper's spreading further; for they set the north-west cloister, which was joined to the tower of Antonia, on fire, and after that brake off about twenty cubits of that cloister, and thereby made a beginning in burning the sanctuary; two days after which, or on the twenty-fourth day of the forenamed month, [Panemus or Tamuz,] the Romans set fire to the cloister that joined to the other, when the fire went fifteen cubits farther. The Jews, in like manner, cut off its roof; nor did they entirely leave off what they were about till the tower of Antonia was parted from the temple, even when it was in their power to have stopped the fire; nay, they lay still while the temple was first set on fire, and deemed this spreading of the fire to be for their own advantage. However, the armies were still fighting one against another about the temple, and the war was managed by continual sallies of particular parties against one another. 6.2.3 these deserters (Jewish rebels of Roman Judea), they also set their engines for throwing of darts, and javelins, and stones upon the sacred gates of the temple, at due distances from one another, insomuch that all the space round about within the temple might be compared to a burying-ground, so great was the number of the dead bodies therein; as might the holy house itself be compared to a citadel.

My careful reading of Josephus Book 6 only confirms my position: http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/war-6.htm 1. Your "mount" is Moriah in its entirety, and NOT the Temple Mount. The ENTIRE walled city of Jerusalem was perched upon the north-south ridge of Mount Moriah, from Antonia at the highest part of Moriah, the North end, to the southern, lowest end of Moriah and the City of David. 2. Titus breached Jerusalem's wall at its Northernmost point to capture the Tower of Antonia overlooking first the Temple, and the entire ridge of Moriah. Titus, from Antonia, could view all the military action WITHIN THE TEMPLE, but quite beyond 300 metre range (1/2 kilometre due to the elevation advantage) of his small catapults to affect the battles http://www.miniatures.de/html/frc/scorpio.html 3. The Jewish defenders of Antonia fled S. to the Temple, falling into the Jewish mines dug under the Roman siege walls between Antonia and the Temple, the outer cloisters of which vere vast.

Farc Fincoln-the devil is a liar! He tries to put doubt in one's mind, confuse them, and keep them from seeing the truth. If you want to know the truth-seek God. "Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."" (John 14:6) Believe Jesus, and the scales will be peeled from your eyes and you will be able to see and believe the truth. Make no mistake about it-the holocaust happened-and Jesus is availabe to anyone who is willing to receive him-yes, even you. Saul was responsible for finding, arresting, and killing the Christians. On his way to Damascus to arrest Christians teaching in a synagogue, God struck him to the ground. Saul saw a bright light and asked "who are you Lord?" And Jesus answered, "I am the one you have been persecuting."Saul was blinded at that moment and God led him to a man who would heel him.He accepted Jesus and God renamed him Paul(The Rock)on which God's church would be built.He was beheaded as a christian.

yes; if the 1st and 2nd temple were there then the 3rd ought to be built there; arabs will always deny a link between the jews and the land they occupy

To #34 Arab Hammer You said what needed to be said and you said it well. Thank you!

Excellent work.The first temple period needs to be better understood and here is the possibility.The newcomers to this great archealogical site should also be joyful,Islam has nothing to lose.It has long been the habit of heathen conquerers to destroy the religious monuments and shrines of the conquered nation,this explains the presence of the large mosque on Judaisms most holy site.The Jordanians destroyed many synagogues in the old city and Jewish sites in the areas administered by Arabs on the West Bank have faired badly.The Jewish claim to the whole of Jerusalem and the biblical land of Israel is obviously just and much stronger than either the claim of the Moslems or the Christians.

THE TEMPLE MOUNT AND INVESTIGATING !!! WHY ARE THE ARABS CONTROLLING THE AREA WHEN JERUSALEM DOESNT BELONG TO THE ARABS EXCLUSIVELY! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE ARABS ARE DESTROYING ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS.(ARABS ARE KNOWN FOR DESTROYING ANYTHING THAT ISNT ISLAMIC(TALIBAN...ANYONE REMEMBER?))DOES ANYONE ELSE(OBVIOUSLY NOT ARABS) CARE ABOUT HISTORY?

Ever hear of the bible? It's been around for a good 2000 years! The first five books have been around for thousands more! In case your madrassa didn't teach you math, 1920 was only 87 years ago. Remember those Crusades you are always complaining about? about 1000 years ago. Do you know why... A well documented Judeo-Christian history rooted in Judea!

His references to Antonia being right next to the Temple are very specific, and not at all vague. Even Arab historians like Philip Hitti wrote that the Temple Mount was Mount Moriah, and that's where the Dome of the Rock is today. I've given you cites already from Bickermann, Durant, Hitti, and Josephus. You're just playing Don Quixote here.

The websites I linked provide diverse evidence for a reasonable case. Thus far, the most emphatic "evidence" challenging the case for a southern location for the Temples has been a vague reference to Josephus stating that the Temple was south of the Roman Fortress Antonia, and that it was "near". My data also states it was "near", indeed opposite the Gihon Spring. That's not far. Unfortunately, no specific distance is to be found in history. But there is a mass of other evidence, most prominently Herod Agrippa's testimony giving an unmistakable fix on the location. Your allusions to underground foundations thus far have proven no better than the allegation that the Western (wailing) Wall is Herodian. Sure there are scholars willing to venture such an opinion, even offering entire books and websites. I'm interested in a demonstration, a proof.

Don't forget that prior to 1948, the term Palestinian refered to Jews only. Any organization with the word Palestine or Palestinian in it was Jewish (The Palestine Post, the Anglo-Palestinian Bank, the Palestine Symphony Orchestra). Palistine is a colonial term that first came into use during the Roman occupation. After Israel won its independence, Jews dropped the term. Arabs did not start calling themselves Palistinians until the 1960's!

Have you ever been to Jerusalem to view the archeological evidence first hand? I have. And the evidence clearly disproves your "sources."

The foundation of the original (first) Bais Hamigdosh has been uncovered. Is that proof enough? You can see it if you take the tunnel tour that begins near the Kotel. I have taken the tour and have seen the original foundation. It really is an impressive feat of engineering.

Imam Al-Qurtubi, th quotes the earlier commentator Imam Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari who related the Prophet Muhammad's response to a follower's query about the ruins of the fabled Jewish Temple. Qurtubi sets out in writing Tabari's words about the destruction of the Temple, which tally in every detail with biblical accounts of the Temple's destruction by the Babylonians, reconstruction, and final destruction by the Romans. Yusuf Ali notes in his commentary on the Koran: "The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah, at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock… it was a sacred place to both Jews and Christians… The chief dates in connection with the Temple in Jerusalem are: It was finished by Solomon about 1004 BCE; destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar about 586 BCE; rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah about 515 BCE; turned into a heathen idol temple by one of Alexander the Great's successors, Antiochus"

"The site is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest (perhaps from pre-historic) times. Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings." this passage was taken from a Brief Guide to the Haram-al-Sharif, published in 1930 by Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of jerusalem. so what was that about jewish mthology

It is already a known fact that the temple existed. History, extra-biblical accounts, etc. support this fact. Saying that the temple did not exist is quite like saying that Akhenaten and Nefertiti never lived. We have too much evidence to dare say that they, let alone, the Temple did not exist. To say otherwise is to grasp at straws because you refuse to see the evidence and it would seem there is probably a theological motivation underlying the refusal to accept its existence.

I must agree with you Yephora. You are indeed quite right. Refusing to accept "B.C." is childish and ignorant. The designation "BCE" is only around for those people that do not accept Jesus Christ as the starting point of counting forward or backward. This would obviously make Jesus an important character- which they don't want to acknowledge. Anyway, just my two cents.

Not much different then the Arabian Nights or the Quran for that matter. Another big lie.

Israel must put archeologists on the Temple Mount. And MUST freeze all activity until archeologists look evaluate it.

The current Israeli govt is 1000% responsible for not safeguarding Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is an irreplaceable archeological treasure of interest the majority of the human species. The neglect by this government that allows the Waqf to desecrate it is criminal.

You got it all wrong. He was challenging the existence of the first temple, not the second.

i think it would be very wise to read some ancient roman history before you open your mouth to say such amazingly idiotic things.

different kinds of ceramics were used in the different time periods, by different groups of people. Also different sorts of ceramics would have been found in a temple or a regular house. That is how they know.

if ud let us excavate under the temple mount we'd give you some proof I promise.

These so called artifacts of the so called temple are as real as your so called holocaust

It?s all part of this on going Jewish mythology. There was never a first or a second temple in Jerusalem. The whole episode is an invention by the Zionists to justify their claim that Palestine was linked to the ancient Jewish tribes. There is no reference or any historical document before the 1920's to a temple. There were simply no Jewish tribes, no temple, no Israel and no link. The whole thing is just one big lie.

or cultural origin for that matter... coffee or tea anyone?

www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1282&module_id=#as

Animal bones and ceramic fragments ? What a desperate attempt to prove false history. I guess you tell a lie so many times , you start to believe it.

Of course it's B.C.! Refusing to accept the universally recognized "B.C." is no different than Arabs refusing to acknowledge that Jewish presence in Jerusalem predated them. Grow up.

according to bible scholars.....in end times, the dome of the rock will disappear, the third temple will be rebuilt.they may be wrong.we'll see.

"cause no other people lived in that time." yes, other people lived in that time, but the "beoble" you think about lived in Arabia, in the desert and in their tents, but not in Jerusalem.

the article does not say the artifacts prove the temple existed. the artifacts are from the era in which the first temple existed. so naysayers and the elated: hold your collective breaths.

Troy was once thought a myth. Then it was discovered.

carbon dating or c-14 dating is used to date these artifacts. Because carbon decays at a universal rate, by examining the decay at the atomic level we can say with certainty when it was made or died. Because just about everything, especially clay, has carbon in we can see when those clay tablets were first made. using the equation t(BP) = -t avg\x\ln{\frac{N}{N_0}} we can easily establish a reliable date up to 60000 years ago.

Exactly like idolaters, Arabs never forget their paganism and go on practicing it.

During all the destruction and construction being done on the temple mount, I read a lot of protests but no real action. I have to wonder just how Jewish are the Jews in Israel? Whose side are they really on? They allow the clearing and destruction of in situ archaeological artifacts and all they do is protest, yet they'll bomb Syria. Are these the Jews who say they are Jews but are not? It appears they are working hand in glove with those who are destroying all trace of Hebrew history on the Temple Mount that belongs to all of Israel, not only to the tribe of Judah alone.

What a pleasant suprise!

Jackie, it was Julian (the Apostate) who re-legalized other than Christian religous practice in the Empire, toward the end of the 4th Century C.E. Justinian was a Christian emperor. It was he who built Santa Katerina Monestery at Mount Sinai.

When the world realizes they can gain immense wealth of knowledge from a people (the jews) who have overcome catastrophe throughout their history, it should be clear to us all, they are the "chosen ones" to share with us the best ways through life. They have survived longer than most! To try and erase their history or their spirit on this planet is a crime punishable by the almighty.

"On Sunday, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that it had discovered fragments of ceramic table wares and animal bones dating back to the first Jewish temple" I wonder how fragments DATING BACK to a certain period can be LINKED to a certain building.

Save your revisionist history garbage, Ivar. The only reason the Mooslims want the Temple Mount is because the Temples were there. Historical memory of the holist place in the Jewish world would never "misplace" the location. If the criminals running the illegitimate Waqf would stop using the Arabs to start riots every time a legitimate archeologist tried to study their so-called holy site, revisionists like yourself would need another hobby. It is as much a fact that the Temples were on the Mount as it is that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Deal with it.

Surely you know that Justinian was the emporer who brought back the worship of the old Roman gods to the Empire. So tell me why he would have established a platform for a church on that site. I think your knowledge of ancient history is a bit twisted.

There are so many histories of the existence of the temple, even ferom such a renowned (and anti-Semitic) historian as Will Durant, that I assume you are joking. Even the monuments of Ancient Roman Empire, still existing in the city of Rone, bear testimony to the treasure seized from the Temple of that time. As a historian, I would think you would know this.

Mohammad asks (TB #5) jpw tjey know the time of the artifacts. Carbon testing would be one way. And since Islam as a religion and its prophet did not come until after the Common Era, artifacts showing Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, well before that time negates the claim of the Arabs to their having a prior claim to the site.

I remember Arafat saying that the Pals has been in the area for 12000 years. And that Jesus himself was a Palestinian...

Welcome to Israel my friend!

So it's very important to discover and enhance your roots. If you believe it's important to rebuild the temple so continue. Don't forget Jerusalem, the holy city, beatiful for all mankind, the house of God

Evidence below proves that the Jewish temples were south of the "Temple Mount" (TM), built in the 6th century by Justinian as a platform for his immense Jerusalem Hagia Sophia. The fill for the platform was sweepings of nearby rubble, which explains the intrusions of 1st and 2nd Temple period artifacts, the temples having been located very near by, next to the Gihon Spring. Jews can be content to relinquish the TM to the Muslims: Scholarship has mislocated the 1st and 2nd Temples, actually located to the South of the traditional Temple Mount (TM): (1) 6th century Roman Historian Procopius stated that Western "Wailing Wall" was not Herodian, but built by Justinian to broaden the foundation for his massive Hagia Sophia, soon destroyed by the Persians, and rebuilt to 1/2 scale by the first Caliph of Jerusalem as a mosque to entice Jerusalem`s Christians. (2) Agrippa`s testimony of a clear view of the Temple from the Hasmonean Palace geographically permits ONLY a spot just to the South of the TM, which is too high to permit a view. (3) Historical documentation from the first 6 centuries demonstrates that the Temple location was well known, and conforms to the location in (2), near the Gihon Spring temple water source. The rubble excavated from the basements of the Waqf on the TM proves the TM was built well after the 2nd century CE. http://www.biblemysteries.com/lectures/builtwailingwall.htm http://www.templemount.org/sagiv2/index.html http://www.templemount.org/sagiv2/drawing20.jpg http://www.askelm.com/temple/t991001.htm (1) 6th century Roman historian Procopius testifies that Justinian, not Herod, built today`s supposed Temple platform: http://www.biblemysteries.com/lectures/builtwailingwall.htm Justinian's intent was to memorialize Pilate's judgment of Jesus of Nazareth, who stood in the prisoner's dock of the Roman Praetorium located at the "rock" outcropping of the Dome of the Rock mosque, a half-scale model of Justinian's Sophia Hagia of Jerusalem, built by its first Caliph to entice Jerusalem's Christian population. The Dome of the Rock is centered on and oriented to the original center and plan of Justinian's Sophia Hagia. The Christian Church of St. Sophia was built on the top of the Temple Mount and was destroyed by the Persian Emperor, Chrosos III, in the year of the prophet Mohammed`s birth. The original mosque of Omar was probably built of wood or mud and no trace of it exists. Its successor was built some decades later by the Caliph Abdel Malek who is also credited with starting the building of the Al Aqsa. Many of the stones and the metal roof came form the ruins of the church which had occupied the site before Chrosos. The whole edifice was built as an alternative place of pilgrimage by the early Caliphs who did not want their subjects travelling to Mecca and Medina which cities were then in the hands of rival Caliphs. (2) Herod`s Temple was located elsewhere: http://www.templemount.org/sagiv2/index.html "Determination of the location of the Temple based on a horizontal observation angle by Agrippa. ... If we assume that the Hasmonean Palace was in the region of the Herodian Quarter in Beit Hamidot, based on a suggestion made by one of the archeologists, this implies that the Temple lay outside the region known as the Temple Mount, in the region of the Beit Omaia palaces." See drawing 20 - not this website`s top choice, but otherwise flawless and consistent with (3), below: http://www.templemount.org/sagiv2/drawing20.jpg The vertical constraint to Agrippa`s view is elsewhere insurmountable. (3) The location of drawing 20 is thoroughly corroborated by numerous historical studies at: http://www.askelm.com/temple/t991001.htm

While the existence and location of the second temple is well documented, I'd like to ask everyone with deeper knowledge to provide evidence for the existence of the 1st temple. I am simply ignorant, but it seems to me an important question for the people of the area. Thank you.

so they found bones and bowls,did it say first temple or 2 temple on them.whan every they find a bone they allways say its from temple time.i cause no other people lived in that time.

It's surprising that exact authenticity of these archaeological finds was established so quickly, almost overnight as it were. That is surely riling the Public Committee of experts.

Good -- lets build the 3rd temple

As far as I can see from the story, the relics come from the appropriate time, but have no proven connection with the temple.

Anywhere in Israel that digging is done, that may have any chance of disturbing archeological sites needs antiquities dept supervision. The Temple mount obviously has archeological significance. Anything done there without antiquities dep.t supervision is being done with an agenda to destroy antiquities. The gov.t must close the Temple mount to anyone and everybody until a proper way to respect the antiquities is determined.

These finds only confirm the need of Israel to take comtrol of the Temple Mount. It is time the arabs are evicted. And, eventually, the pagan islamic mosques will have to be relocated to sites more in keeping with their ideology...perhaps Indonesia or Malaysia. Get rid of the present anti-semitic Israeli government and take full control of all of Eretz Yisroel. Let's face it, the arabs will try to destroy Israel no matter what. They want non-islamic blood where ever they can shed it.

it could not be BC as you have mistranslated because in hebrew the correct term is before the counting with no refrence to jesus. therefore the correct translation is BCE before the common era. you are welcome

Good -- lets build the 3rd jewish temple === augustine e johnson -- birmingham alabama- usa - saved67@yahoo.com

you guys got it wrong again. please have these articles better translated.