The Investment Report : Archaeologist for a day!

Normally I'd be busy at the school today but, Surprise! no school, as it is the day that the Eastern Church celebrates the Ascension of Christ. So what would any red-blooded American girl with a day off in Jerusalem want to do? Why, hose down and sift through the archaeological refuse from the illegal excavations for an additional access to Solomon’s Stables, dumped in the Kidron valley of course. I mean really, was there any doubt? Seriously, when I learned that truckloads of dirt were unceremoniously taken from the temple mount area, and dumped in a variety of spots without any regard to the history it contained, I decided that if I could spend some time helping sort it out, I would.

This morning I walked down from the dorm, around the university and down again into the Tzurim Valley, between the Mt. of Olives, Mt. Scopus and the Kidron Valley, where the temple mount sifting project has been going on for several years.

Solomon's Stables circa

Upon arriving, there is a brief tutorial, explaining the project and the temple history with a focus on the Templar Knights who named Solomon’s Stables Solomon's Stables (no one is exactly sure why, but the Templars did use the area for their horses), and the later decision by the Muslims in power to build a mosque in that underground area and still later to excavate an “exit” which is the beginning of the story of the sifting project

Archive photo

In two days’ time, in a clandestine operation, an area was cleared away to open the archways to the underground mosque. (I didn’t even know there was a second mosque on the Mount) Truckloads of dirt were dumped in various locations, including the spot I visited today which is now part of the national park system.

archive photo

Fortunately, the excavations were brought to a halt, but the archaeological damage was done. Layers and layers, years and years of history is now all a jumble, much of it lost forever in unknown dump sites

This project, is collecting, dating, and documenting for publication all man-made objects in an attempt to piece together the past. Amazing items have been found already including a first temple seal with the name of a priest mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1, “When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord…” And coins, lots of coins, from the first temple onward, including the half shekel that was required as the temple tax mentioned in Matthew 17:24-27.

Buckets of potential treasure

So how do volunteers help? First be ready to get dirty. Buckets are staged in the center of the tent with about 2-3 inches of rescued dirt and covered with water to soften the years of soil build up. You begin by selecting a bucket and taking it to a boxed screen that is set up at about waist level and equipped with a hose. Dump your bucket contents onto the screen, hose out the bucket to be sure nothing remains, hose off the contents now in the screen and go to work sorting out the man-made objects into, metal, ceramic, special stones, bones, glass, and pieces of mosaic. (I just noticed bones, and I guess buy definition they are man-made, but did that look odd to anyone else?)

And where are my photos? Sadly, while I took some spectacular photos of the stairs leading down into the valley, the people at the project site, especially my new friend Reut who was assisting the volunteers and said I was excellent at finding ‘just a rock’ (remembering this is archaeology, not geology) but was impressed with a large piece of marble that I found, and apparently an unusually large number of bone fragments. My camera, however, neglected to alert me that the sim card was still here in the computer.

Yeah, been there, did that and actually got the tee shirt.

I think the photos I found and the video below will give you a good feel for the adventure, you’ll just have to take my word for the HUGE piece of marble I found. Ok, so it was only about the size of a quarter pound of butter, but it wasn't ‘just a rock’ after all.

To learn more about the Temple Mount Sifting Project visit: http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en/tours/mount-olives/temple-mount-sifting-project

Click on the Video Experience for a pretty great explanation of the process.