Archaeological find in Jerusalem Dates to Rebuilding of Temple
A recent archaeological revelation highlights the time of Jesus and Jewish revolts against Roman occupation. Just inside the Jaffa Gate, along Jerusalem’s Old City walls, lies a hidden treasure that is being expanded. “If you want to know and see the story of ancient Jerusalem, one of the best places to see it is right here in the excavation in the Kishle,” archaeologist Amit Re’em of the Israel Antiquities Authority says.
The site is often included on Holyland to Holyland tours organized by Dwight and Anita Widaman and their Heartland to Holyland tours, and also operate metrovoicenews.com. It’s a stunny site for visitors to see.
The Kishle, a former military compound and prison in the Tower of David Complex, tells thousands of years of the history of Jerusalem, from the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948 back to Jewish Temple times.
“We started to excavate in a British jail that was erected right here, near the Jaffa Gate, in the Kishle, in the 1930s,” Re’em said.” This jail was built inside the Ottoman building built in the 1830s. And after we removed the floor of the Ottoman building and we removed the British jail, and we started the archaeological excavation, and we find a kind of industry from the time of the Crusaders, the 12th century CE.”
After digging deeper, they found two massive parallel walls with dirt fill between them.
“And we think, according to all the archeological data, as evidence, that we are looking at the foundations of the private palace of King Herod from the first century BC,” Re-em said. “Underneath was the main sewage system of the palace. Our Hasmonean fortification was buried really deep, deep inside this system of the podium and the retaining walls in the foundations of Herod’s palace.”
The current dig is preparation for the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum’s new Schulich Wing of Archaeology Art, and Innovation. “In the upcoming couple of years, we are going to add a floating glass floor to this building,” Museum Director Eilat Lieber said. We are going to light the antiquities that people can enjoy and see the different layers from ancient Jerusalem.”
Artifacts, projection technology, models and more will be used tell the story of those who made history in Jerusalem.
“So you can touch the modern history of the state of Israel up here,” she said. “And as you go down, you can reach different parts of Jewish history here in Jerusalem. So this is the uniqueness of the site, and our mission is to bring it to the public, to the world as part of the renovation of the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum.”
What makes it a fascinating stop for Heartland to Holyland tours is that the far end of the interior space includes the wall of Herod’s Palace. Bible scholars and archaeologists believe this location was the praetorium (the Roman governor’s official residence) where the trial of Jesus took place.
–Alan Goforth
