By Michael Ireland

A quarry has been found in Jerusalem with historic significance. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday (July 6) the discovery of a quarry used to produce many of the stones which were used to build the outer retaining walls of the Temple Mount complex during King Herod’s building of the Second Temple over 2,000 years ago.

According to a news report from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), the quarry, discovered during preparations for a building site on Shmuel Hanevi street in central Jerusalem, covers one dunam (approx. a quarter acre) and contain stones up to 2 meters high, indicating that they were used for large building projects, of which King Herod famously built several, including the Second Temple.

"We know from historical sources that in order to build the Temple and other projects which Herod constructed, such as his palace, hundreds of thousands of various size stones were required — most of them weighing between two and five tons each," said Dr. Ofer Sion.

"The dimensions of the stones that were produced in the quarry that was revealed are suitable for the Temple walls."

Historical records show that Herod employed over 10,000 people in the process of quarrying and transporting the stones, which was one of the most technologically complicated engineering feats of the time.

Assist News Service