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ERICH LESSING/ART RESOURCE, NY
LOST LOOT. Jerusalem’s holy sanctuary was looted and destroyed twice, first by the Babylonians, in 586 BCE, and then by the Romans, who destroyed the rebuilt Second Temple in 70 CE. Different sources and traditions suggest the spoils from the Second Temple stayed in the Holy Land or were carried away to Rome, as depicted in this famous relief from the Arch of Titus in Rome that commemorates the conquest of Jerusalem. While the Book of Ezra claims the precious implements of Solomon’s Temple returned from Babylonian exile to Jerusalem, the Treatise of the Vessels insists they remained hidden away in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. How did this alternative tradition develop, and what may it reveal about the location of the lost Temple treasures?