The Stones the Builders Rejected

The quarry that produced the enormous limestone ashlars for Herod the Great’s massive Temple Mount enclosure wall has been discovered in Jerusalem, about 2 miles northwest of the site. The 1.25-acre site was uncovered in September 2007 during a salvage excavation to prepare for the construction of a girls’ elementary school in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. The quarry was identified as Herodian based on the high-quality limestone, the large size of the stones (up to 26 feet long!) and the recovery of coins and pottery that date the site’s use to the first century A.D. The quarrying process required […]