The Mughrabi Ramp Controversy

July 30, 2007

Sandwiched between the Western Wall Plaza and the Jerusalem Archaeological Park is a small earthen hill that forms a ramp leading to the only entrance that non-Muslims may use to enter the Temple Mount complex. It got its name from the Mughrabi Quarter, which once housed Muslims from North Africa who lived next to and worked in the mosques on the Temple Mount. The Mughrabi Quarter homes were in use up until 1967 when their inhabitants fled the fighting in the Six Day War. Afterward, Israel cleared many of the empty homes from the area to form the Western Wall prayer area. Israeli archaeologists also excavated on the other side of the ramp around the southwest corner of the Temple Mount, exposing remains from Herodian times.

A season of heavy rain and several small earthquakes over the last several years caused part of the earthen ramp to collapse and forced engineers to come up with plans for a new ramp to the Mughrabi Gate. As with any building project, Israeli archaeologists began excavating the area before construction could commence.

Fanny Vito, chief site archaeologist, explained that their project received the necessary permission from the government and that it in no way threatened the mosques on the Temple Mount, as some Muslim leaders have claimed, a fact confirmed by UNESCO inspectors. In fact, their dig stopped some 50 feet (15 meters) from the Western Wall and plans were to dig down only to the level of the Western Wall Plaza.

However, many archeologists strongly objected to a new ramp, saying that it would damage existing antiquities in the area. The plans for the new ramp were abandoned several months after the Mughrabi Ramp dig began, signaling the end for the dig as well. Vito had hoped to discover remains from the Early Muslim or even Byzantine Periods, but revealed that all they found to date were remains from homes of modern times.
—By Will King, Israel Mosaic Radio Correspondent
 

Photo Credit: Isranet

Photo Credit: Photo by Will King