"Locating
Solomon's Temple"
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Updated June, 2014
Locating
Solomon's Temple
By Norma Robertson
…
Table
of Content
CHAPTER
ONE .....................................................
INTRODUCTION
WATER SYSTEM
DIAGRAMS OF TEMPLE MOUNT
CHAPTER
TWO
..................................................
NEHEMIAH WALL
FORT ANTONIA
THE MOAT
CITY WALLS
CHAPTER THREE
..............................................
THE TEMPLE GATES
TRIPLE GATE
SOLOMON’S PORTICO
DOUBLE GATE
CHAPTER FOUR
.................................................
THE SOUTHEAST CORNER
ILLUSTRATION OF TEMPLE 70 AD
CHAPTER FIVE
...................................................
THE OPHEL EXCAVATIONS
CHAPTER
SIX .....................................................
THE TEMPLE MOUNT PLATFORM
CHAPTER SEVEN
...............................................
THE SOUTHWEST CORNER
CHAPTER EIGHT ................................................
THE SOLOMONIC WALL
AKRA FOUND?
CHAPTER ONE
"The
Temple Mount in
Jerusalem"
Introduction
The location
of
the Temple platform, where both Solomon and Herod's Temples once stood,
has
remained a mystery for almost two thousand years. There are
five theories
as to where the Temple was once located. The most popular is under the
Dome of
the Rock. The second theory shows it to be under the Dome of the
Spirits just
north of the Dome of the Rock. The third theory believes it was under
the
fountain, half way between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa/Aqsa
Mosque.
The fourth has the Temple completely outside the Temple Mount in the
midst of
what used to be the City of David. The fifth is of course mine. Which
shows the
Temple to be in the most southern position on the Temple Mount, deep
below and
to the west of the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The first four
theories have one problem in common, lack of physical proof. They feel
that if
they were able to excavate on the Mount then they would find enough
ruins of
gates and walls etc. to prove the actual location. That, however, is
not
allowed by the Muslims.
I have found
that there is a lot of physical proof, if you look to the south end of
the
Mount. I will be showing that physical proof in the form of pictures of
the
Ophel area, and old survey maps, drawn by the last explorers ever
allowed to
enter the underground chambers, cisterns, and water channels beneath
the Mount.
When studying
about the location of the Temple of God one of the most important
things to do
is to begin with the location of Solomon's Temple, built around 1000
BC.
Herod tore down and rebuilt the Temple on the exact same location
around 19
BC. His descendants then increased the temple fortress, or
complex, that
surrounded the Temple House, to be double the size according to Herod's
plans.
These walls doubling the size of the Temple complex, constructed of
first century
Herodian stone, were not completed until the mid 60's. The city and
Temple were
then destroyed a few years later in AD 70.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, lived during the time of the destruction of the Temple and city of Jerusalem, is a great source concerning the Temple. He wrote that Herod's Temple complex was a furlong in length and width. A furlong by a furlong is approximately 600 x 600 feet. This doubled the size of Solomon's Temple complex. Both Temple complexes shared the same east wall. Herod felt that the east gate was too beautiful to tear down, so refused to let his builders rebuild it. They merely extended the east wall to the north and to the south.
My diagram of both Solomon's Temple
area ( in green)
and Herod's
extended courts (in blue).
The Temple house,
Priest's court, and women's court were rebuilt by Herod the Great (Pre
first
century). Later, as Herod's decedents continued his work by extended
the outer
courts during the first century, then parts of the old walls of
Solomon's
complex were most likely removed.
Notice the Wailing
Wall is located on the upper left side of this diagram on the first
century
wall.
The Temple
house, Priest's court, and women's court, were rebuilt by Herod the
Great (Pre
first century). Later, as Herod's descendants continued his work by
extended
the outer courts during the first century, then parts of the old walls
of
Solomon's complex were most likely removed.
Water System
This survey
map
of the southwest section of the Temple Mount reveals the water channels.
It seems the
Muslims closed off the water channels leading to the south when they
built
their fountain.
The aqueduct
was built by Solomon bringing water to the Temple Mount from Bethlehem
to the
Etam pools. It entered the mount through Wilson's Arch. It didn't go up
hill
from there towards the Dome of the Rock, which would have been the case
if the
Temple had been located there, but instead the channel was laid towards
the
south, down hill from the where it entered the Mount. Further
indicating that
the Temple was located to the south.
The
Dome of the Rock is 20 feet higher than the aqueduct.
During the second
temple period a new way of filling the Copper Laver was devised called
the
Muchni. Ben Katin, one of the High Priests who served during the era of
the
Second Temple, devised a system for retrieving the water each morning
using
this "machinery". The laver was submerged into a
specially-made
pool under the court. The laver was then hoisted up by the first priest
in the
morning.
When I laid my temple diagram over
the map of water
channels the large pool was right next to the Temple house. This
was very
exciting!
Another branch of
this water system ended under what I believe to be the location of the
Priest
court. For me this was the last piece of the
puzzle. This section
of the water channel could be opened to flood the Priest's court each
evening
to cleanse it of blood.
The Mishna
tells us that the water for filling the copper laver every day was
brought by a
conduit from the pools of Bethlehem.
"How is the Azara (Priest’s court)
cleaned? Seal the area and let the water from the aqueduct enter till
it
becomes clean like milk." Tosefta Pesachim, Ch. 3, Par. 12.
(Tuvia Sagiv)
This
Lower
Aqueduct was built by Solomon bringing water to the Temple
from the
Etam Spring (Ain Atan) near Solomon’s pools. The Jerusalem Talmud
(Yoma' 3
fol 41) says that
a conduit ran from Atan (Ain Atan, Ein Etan-Etam)
to the Temple.
(bible-history.com/isbe/E/Etam)
The
Lower
Aqueduct was rebuilt in later times by the Hasmoneans around 167 BC. An
Upper
Aqueduct brought water to the upper
city. It
was built by Pontius Pilate by the 10th
legion.
There was a drain next to the altar where the water and blood would have drained into a blood channel leading to the Kidron Valley.
UNDER
DOUBLE
GATE HALLS
Recently
photographs from 1927 have been released that show a Jewish mikveh
(bath) under
the Al Aqsa Mosque.
It is located
somewhere beneath the double passage halls below the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Notice the
measuring rod and ladder on the floor of this Mikveh, which shows its
immense
size. In my theory this could possibly be the Mikveh that would have
been
located under the Chamber of the Hearth.
Notice the comment
on the photo says Cistern A. Which may indicate
that there is at least a
Cistern B.
Cistern A is UNDER
the Double Passages, so it is at a very low rock
level. It is suspected
that there is a cistern at a higher rock level, between the eastern
gate of the
mosque and the Well of the Leaf, that may also be a Jewish mikveh.
"We
theorized
in October that the American Colony photographer gained access to the
area
under the al Aqsa Mosque, partially destroyed in the 1927 earthquake.
Nadav
Shragai, a scholar on Jerusalem sites, reported in a Yisrael HaYom
article last
year, that Robert Hamilton, director of the British Mandate Antiquities
Authority, had explored under the mosque at the time. He "photographed,
sketched, excavated and analyzed" what he saw. But he promised the
Islamic
Authorities, the Waqf, that he would make "no mention of any findings
that
the Muslims would have found inconvenient" such as findings from the
time
of the Jewish Temples." israeldailypicture.com
Diagrams
of this
Theory
