Second Temple Period Quarry Uncovered in Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s well-known high-tech industrial zone is called ‘Har Hozvim’ (‘Quarrymen’s Hill’), but not everyone knows why. This week, prior to future development by the Moriah Jerusalem Development Corporation, Israel Antiquities Authority excavations provided evidence of the name’s true meaning with the discovery of a vast ancient quarry that apparently dates from the Second Temple period (some two thousand years ago).
The quarry, only part of which has been excavated, covers approximately 600 sq m but is probably at least two or three times as large. The massive building blocks extracted from it measured 1.5 x 2 m. The site provides a clear demonstration of all the phases of quarrying and stone preparation.
“The large-scale building projects in ancient Jerusalem, such as the Temple Mount, required a vast amount of building materials and the ability to organize and coordinate the quarrying and transportation of thousands of building blocks to the ancient city,” says Moran Hagbi, the excavation’s director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Building blocks in various stages of working were discovered in the quarry. For example, we uncovered large, square blocks of stone about to be detached from the bedrock, prior to loading and transporting them to the ancient city.”
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