Paul Calvert spoke at length with prominent Israeli archaeologist Dr Gabriel Barkay

Paul: Are archaeologists allowed to investigate on the site of the Temple Mount?

Temple Mount

Dr Barkay: The Temple Mount was never investigated archeologically. There was never a controlled excavation there. In the 19th century there were some surveys allowed, which were done by British scholars as well as French and German. The major British expedition was in the early to mid 60's of the 19th century led by Charles Wilson. The other one two years later was led by Charles Warren, who was one of the pioneers and most able people in the archaeology of Jerusalem. In any case they collected no pottery; they just documented structures on the Temple Mount. They didn't dig at all.

In 1927 there was a devastating earthquake in Jerusalem that ruined the Al-Aqsa Mosque entirely. As a result of that, there were excavations under the building as part of the restoration of the building in 1927. Those excavations were carried out under the auspices of the British Department of Antiquities, of the British mandate of Palestine. They were carried out under the directorship of Cedric Norman Jones, a British archaeologist.

Paul: It seems quite amazing really, there must be a rich history under there but no one has really investigated it!

Dr Barkay: Yes it is deplorable. It's deplorable the Temple Mount being the most important archaeological site in this country and being one of the most important corner stones of western civilization. It is the starting point of the Judeo-Christian traditions and beliefs. That place was never touched by the spade of any archaeological expedition ever. That is very interesting also in the light of the fact that Jerusalem is the most excavated place on earth. It is excavated constantly for 150 years and the Temple Mount is a kind of black hole in the history of archaeology.

Paul: Is the Waqf stopping people from excavating on there at the moment?

Dr Barkay: Yes very much so. The Waqf deigns the accessibility to archaeologists and even inspectors of the antiquities authority are not allowed to work upon the Temple Mount or to report about any damages. The situation is really deplorable. In any case there were excavations around the Temple Mount but not on the Temple Mount.

Paul: Is the reason because if they find something it will prove there was a Jewish temple and it could give more claim to the Israelis?

Dr Barkay: I would say yes. The problem is even more serious; you cannot hold the stick in both hands. You cannot say show me the remains of the temple and at the same time say I'm not going to allow you to find remains of the temple. This shows that the Waqf should not run things on the Temple Mount.

The Temple Mount is part of the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is at the moment the well known capital of Israel. It is under the sovereignty of Israel so the State should take measures in order to control the place and to apply the laws of antiquities as in any other spot in the country.

Paul: What has happened on the Temple Mount as far as construction is concerned?

Dr Barkay: In the 90's and in the early 2000's there were major changes. Some of those changes are significant and much damage was done. The Temple Mount witnessed barbaric acts. The Waqf behaved in the 1990's as an elephant in a china shop. The destruction is barbarous. The sub terrain structure known as Solomon's stables was turned into a mosque. The earth was lowered without any checking of the earth that was saturated with ancient remains. Infrastructure was put into the building that is an 11th century building in its present shape, but it starts in the second temple period. Underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque there are passages, which led to the Temple of Herod. These passages are intact. They are preserved very well and they have in their ceilings stone domes, which are carved with decorations and are the best preserved remains of Jewish art from the second temple period, from the time of Jesus. Those together with a pillar were turned into another mosque.

The building is not accessible to scholars. Many of the subterranean hollows of the Temple Mount were cleared of the earth that was inside them, which could teach us a lot about the history of the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is honey combed with more than 50 cavities, passageways, cisterns and all kinds; 50 is the number of the known ones and there are others that are not known. Those were penetrated in the 1990's and early 2000's and we don't know what happened there.

In 1999 the peak of the atrocities happened when there was a request that gained permission for an emergency exit for the illicitly built mosque in Solomon's stables. In November 1999 bulldozers and trucks appeared on the Temple Mount and for about a week they dug a gigantic pit 12 metre in depth and 40 metres in length. They removed from the south eastern corner of the Temple Mount more than 400 truck loads of earth, with very significant archaeological remains within it and also destroying remains of structures which were there; remains of archaeological significance which were all destroyed and removed from that area. The earth was dumped on the slopes of the Kidron Valley near by.