SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

Archaeologists reconstruct floor of Second Temple in Jerusalem

The likely design of the geometrically-interesting floor of the Second Temple has been reconstructed by archaeologists in Jerusalem.

Using original fragments dating from the time of King Herod about 2,000 years ago, experts have painstakingly reconstructed the floor of the Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD following a Jewish rebellion. 

Archaeologists say they have found some 600 segments of coloured stone tile segments since they began searching through debris from Temple Mount in 2004 under what is known as the Temple Mount Sifting Project. More than 100 of the fragments have been definitively dated to the Second Temple period.

It is believed the recovered tile fragments may have come from porticos in the Temple’s courtyards. They are being presented to the public at a conference in Jerusalem.

Dr Gabriel Barkay, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, said the reconstruction “enables us to get an idea of the Temple’s incredible splendor”. 

“This represents the first time that we can see with our own eyes the splendor of the flooring that decorated the Second Temple and its annexes 2,000 years ago.”

Frankie Snyder, an expert in the study of ancient Herodian-style flooring, said she used “geometric principles, and through similarities found in tile design used by Herod at other sites” to restore the floor. “This type of flooring, called ‘opus sectile,’ Latin for ‘cut work,’ is very expensive and was considered to be far more prestigious than mosaic tiled floors.”

She said that so far the team had created “seven potential designs of the majestic flooring that decorated the buildings of the Temple Mount,” adding that there were no opus sectile floors in Israel prior to the time of King Herod. “The tile segments were perfectly inlaid such that one could not even insert a sharp blade between them.”

The Temple Mount is known to Muslims as Haram esh-Sharif and is now the location of a number of Muslim structures including the Dome of the Rock.

https://templemount.wordpress.com

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.