Pinpointing the origins of Jerusalem's Temple Mount

Date:
June 3, 2020
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
Integrating radiocarbon dating and microarchaeology techniques has
enabled more precise dating of the ancient Wilson's Arch monument
at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== [View of the Temple | Credit: (c) Horva'th Botond / stock.adobe.com]
View of the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the golden Dome of the Rock
mosque in the old town of Jerusalem (stock image).

Credit: (c) Horva'th Botond / stock.adobe.com [View of the Temple |
Credit: (c) Horva'th Botond / stock.adobe.com] View of the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the golden Dome of the Rock mosque in the old town of Jerusalem (stock image).

Credit: (c) Horva'th Botond / stock.adobe.com Close Integrating
radiocarbon dating and microarchaeology techniques has enabled more
precise dating of the ancient Wilson's Arch monument at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to a study published June 3, 2020 in the open-access
journal PLOS ONE by Johanna Regev from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and colleagues.


========================================================================== Radiocarbon dating has rarely been used in archaeological explorations
of the Classical and Post-Classical age in the Eastern Mediterranean (approximately the 8th century BC-6th century AD) -- this is due to
the technique's imprecision, as well as a historical reliance on using
material culture findings like coins or texts to estimate dates of
specific monuments.

In this study, Regev and colleagues focused on pinpointing the specific construction dates for Wilson's Arch, an arch of "The Great Causeway,"
an ancient bridge linking Jerusalem's Temple Mount to the houses of
Jerusalem's upper city, and which was excavated in 2015-2019 as part
of a tourist development project. Wilson's Arch has been the subject of
much scholarly debate, with construction dates suggested from the time
of Herod the Great, Roman colonization, or even the early Islamic period
in Jerusalem (a span of about 700 years).

To better understand the specific timing of Wilson's Arch (and the
historical context in which it was constructed), Regev and colleagues used
an integrative approach in the field during its excavation, conducting radiocarbon dating of 33 construction material samples directly at the
site (generally charred organic matter, like seeds or sticks, present
in mortar), as well as stratigraphic and microarchaeological analyses.

The authors were able to narrow the dates of construction for the initial
Great Causeway bridge structure as having occurred between 20 BC and 20
AD, during the reign of Herod the Great or directly after his death. They
also discovered a second stage of construction: between 30 AD and 60 AD,
the bridge doubled in size as Wilson's Arch in its current form was
finalized (during this period of direct Roman rule, there's evidence
the Romans began or expanded on many building projects around Jerusalem, including an aqueduct supplying the Temple Mount with water).

Regev and colleagues note that their technique of using many samples
for radiocarbon dating, coupled with stratigraphic analysis, could be
broadly applied in many other densely-built ancient cities in order to fine-tune building dates for specific remains.

The authors add: "Radiocarbon high resolution chronology of charred
remains reshapes Jerusalem's history, resolving a long-standing debate regarding the entrance to its holiest site: the Temple Mount."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Johanna Regev, Joe Uziel, Tehillah Lieberman, Avi Solomon,
Yuval Gadot,
Doron Ben-Ami, Lior Regev, Elisabetta Boaretto. Radiocarbon dating
and microarchaeology untangle the history of Jerusalem's Temple
Mount: A view from Wilson's Arch. PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (6): e0233307
DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0233307 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603144333.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603144333.htm

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