The Jewish menorah—especially the Temple menorah, a seven-branched candelabra that stood in the Temple—is the most enduring and iconic Jewish symbol. But what did the Temple menorah actually look like? Read more…
Temple at Jerusalem
Considered sacred ground even before Biblical times and bitterly contested in our own day, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most fascinating and important places on earth. Few places in the world have enjoyed such religious significance. According to Jewish, Christian and Muslim doctrine, it was here that Adam was buried after being expelled from Eden. This is also the site where it is said Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, where Solomon built his Temple, and where Muhammad ascended to heaven.
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Understanding the Jewish Menorah
• 12/03/2018
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Learn More About the Temple Mount Now
• 11/07/2018
Considered sacred ground even before Biblical times and bitterly contested in our own day, the Temple Mount is one of the most fascinating and important places on earth. Read more…
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What the Temple Mount Floor Looked Like
• 08/05/2018
More than a hundred colorful polished stone tiles have been recovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The tiles reveal what the Temple Mount floors looked like in Herod’s time. Read more…
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Sifting Antiquity on the Temple Mount Sifting Project
• 08/04/2018
Archaeological excavations are prohibited on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, though one project—the Temple Mount Sifting Project—has been analyzing soil that came from the Temple Mount since 2004. Learn the Read more…
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The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period (37 BC–70 A.D.)
• 08/03/2018
Archaeological architect Leen Ritmeyer presents drawings of the Temple Mount in the Herodian period. Read more…
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The Doorways of Solomon’s Temple
• 06/26/2018
In the Bible, the inner shrine of Solomon’s Temple is described as having five mezuzot. What are they? The question has puzzled Biblical scholars for centuries. Does a recently discovered Read more…
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Jewish Captives in the Imperial City
• 04/05/2018
Ancient Rome was the superpower of its day. Yet, when the Romans conquered the tiny province of Judea and quashed the First Jewish Revolt in 70 C.E., it was actually Read more…
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Searching for the Temple of King Solomon
• 03/06/2018
The black basalt ruins of the Iron Age temple discovered at ’Ain Dara in northern Syria offer the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. Read more…
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What Did Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem Look Like?
• 12/24/2017
Fifty years ago, leading Israeli scholar Michael Avi-Yonah constructed a now-iconic model of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem. How accurate is it? Read more…
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Where Did the Temple Menorah Go?
• 09/18/2017
There is little doubt that the Temple Menorah was taken to Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem. However, Rome was sacked, and the Temple Menorah was looted. After disaster befell Read more…
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On Display in Rome: Images of the Temple Menorah
• 07/07/2017
The Menorah: Worship, History and Myth, a major exhibition on display at the Vatican Museum and the Jewish Museum in Rome, provides dramatic images of the Temple Menorah. Read more…
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The Stones of Herod’s Temple Reveal Temple Mount History
• 03/01/2017
Building and furnishing the Herodian Temple involved more than stone quarrying and laying, but the stones and foundations of Herod’s Temple can give us clues to Temple Mount history. Read more…
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Ancient Synagogues in Israel and the Diaspora
• 09/03/2016
Were there synagogues before the Romans destroyed the Temple, or did they develop only afterward? Communal structures from the Second Temple period have been discovered, but should they be considered Read more…
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Apostasy in Judaism
• 10/19/2015
Did Jews have a faith crisis after the Second Temple destruction and the horrors that followed? In his Biblical Views column in the November/December 2015 issue of BAR, Jonathan Klawans Read more…
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Contested Temple Mount History?
• 10/13/2015
A recent New York Times article, which set out to discuss the history and political complexities of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, has drawn a great deal of criticism. Read more…
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Tenth-Century B.C. Stone Seal Discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project
• 10/08/2015
An ancient stone seal dated to the 10th century B.C.—the time of David and Solomon—has been found in soil taken from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Read more…
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Western Wall Rubble: Caused by Fourth-Century Earthquake?
• 01/06/2015
Archaeologist Shimon Gibson believes a fourth-century earthquake, not the Romans, caused stones to topple from the Western Wall. Read more…
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Study Investigates Western Wall Erosion
• 08/20/2014
A study newly published in the journal Geology has investigated why some portions of the Western Wall are more eroded and contain more cracks than others. Read more…
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Ancient Chisel Unearthed at the Western Wall
• 04/24/2014
IAA archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old chisel that may have been used to build the Western Wall on the Temple Mount. Read more…
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A Virtual Tour of the Temple Mount
• 07/17/2013
A new virtual tour of the Temple Mount was released this week, in conjunction with the fast day of Tisha B’av. Read more…
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First Temple Period Ritual Structure Discovered Near Jerusalem
• 12/27/2012
Archaeologists have uncovered a temple and cache of sacred vessels dating back to the First Temple period, providing a unique glimpse into public religion in the early monarchy before the Read more…
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First Temple Period ‘Matanyahu’ Seal Discovered in Jerusalem
• 05/02/2012
An Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in Jerusalem uncovered a small stone seal dating to the First Temple period earlier this week. The 8th-6th century B.C.E. personal seal was used to Read more…
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Jerusalem Seal Gives Evidence for Temple Ritual
• 12/27/2011
Archaeologists surveying the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in the area of Robinson’s Arch have found a button-sized, first-century C.E. seal inscribed in Aramaic with the phrase “pure for Read more…
