Switching between periods

This article presents the results of a study that used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to image and visualize the stones of the Western Wall in the Robinson Arch area. Among the conclusions of the study is that the Western Wall in the Robinson Arch area is built of particularly thick stones, and that the thickness of the stones of the Western Wall in the Robinson Arch area is similar to those from which the large pillar that supported the Robinson Arch on the western side was built.

The article presents a preliminary report on the new excavations conducted at the site of Birkat al-Hamrah during the years 2023–2024. The site is located at the southern outlet of the Tyropoeon Valley and is bordered on the east by a large and ancient dam wall, remnants of which had been partially uncovered in earlier excavations. The excavation revealed that the monumental staircase previously uncovered by Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron in the northern part of Birkat al-Hamrah does not continue southward into the central topographic depression of the pool. The excavators propose a possible connection between the remains and an entertainment structure constructed by King Herod as part of the The “five-year period” games celebrations in honor of Emperor Augustus.  

The article suggests a new understanding of ‘dung vessels, stone vessels, earth vessels’ mentioned in the Mishnah, and discuses the date of stone vessels made of hard limestone.

The article presents the descriptions of Herod’s palace in Jerusalem as recorded by Josephus, and reviews the various scholarly proposals regarding the palace’s location along the western wall of Jerusalem. The article proposes a new possibility: that the palace was situated along the northern wall of Herodian Jerusalem, extending eastward, at the northern edge of todays Armenian Quarter- an area that has been scarcely excavated.

the article suggests that Herod’s rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple was a grand Roman-backed project blending Jewish tradition with Roman architecture. Intended to glorify Herod and align Judaea with Augustus’s new imperial order, it may have symbolically included Augustus in temple worship. While Herod claimed personal expense, Roman support—financial and political—was crucial to the endeavor’s success and significance.

The article deals with the central section of the Tyropoeon Valley, where excavators did not find the continuation of the stepped street’s staircase. The author suggests that a letter from British military rule over the city may help solve the mystery and shed light on where the stone steps disappeared.

This article summarizes the main discoveries and insights from the excavations conducted by the Rony Reich and Eli Shukron expedition in the City of David between 1995-2010, in preparation for the publication of the first part of the final excavation report. Among their discoveries are the Bronze age fortifications of Gihon Spring, the continuation of the excavation of Channel II of the ancient water system, remains of a wall from the Iron Age near Channel II, the monumental staircase identified by the excavators as the Siloam Pool from the Second Temple period, and more.