First Temple Artifacts Found on Temple Mount

December 10, 2007

Seligman said the ceramics found dated to the eighth century BC, about 100 years prior to the destruction of Solomon’s Temple. Though First Temple items have been found on the Temple Mount before, Seligman said the discovery was important because it was the first time items were found in a sealed, undisturbed layer directly on site. Such a layer allows it to be placed in context.

Seligman said the discovery, 197 feet (60 meters) southeast of the Dome of the Rock, helps to determine the borders of the First Temple complex.

By Joshua Spurlock, Correspondent,
BFP Israel Mosaic Radio