Herod’s Quarry Exposed

October 4, 2009

Dr. Ofer Sion believes, “The immense size of the stones [maximum dimensions: length 3 meters, width 2 m, height 2 m or 9 x 6 x 6 feet] indicates it was highly likely that the large stones that were quarried at the site were destined for use in the construction of Herod’s magnificent projects in Jerusalem, including the Temple walls…The stones were quarried by creating wide detachment channels that were marked by means of a chisel which weighed c. 2.5 kilograms [5.5 pounds]. After the channels were formed, the stones were severed from the bedrock using hammers and chisels…”

Over 10,000 workers were involved in hewing hundreds of thousands of stone weighing two to five tons each, which were transported on rolling wooden fixtures drawn by camels or on carriages. Though the Temple itself was built in only two years, the extracting of the stones took eight. According to Sion, “The large section that was exposed is actually a small part of an enormous series of quarries that was spread across the entire slope…The massive quarrying effort…lowered the topography of Jerusalem in the vicinity of the Old City. With the exposure of this quarry, the intensity of the building projects as described in the historical sources can be proven…It is clear that Herod began quarrying closest to the Temple and worked away from it…”

Among the artifacts discovered were metal plates (or “cheeks”) that were used as fulcrums to sever the stones from the bedrock and coins and pottery shards that date back to the end of the Second Temple period (the first century BC).

Excerpts from an IAA press release

Photo Credit: Photo: IAA