Sunday, July 29, 2007

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH - Two excavations at the Western Wall Plaza are surveyed in the Jerusalem Post:
Revealing Jerusalem
By LEAH ABRAMOWITZ

There is a huge hole at each end of the Western Wall Plaza, one of which is expanding by the day. Both are significant archeological excavations now in progress under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, but they differ in their scope and implications for the area.

The Mughrabi Gate excavation site and that where the police station once stood are both considered "rescue digs" - that is, important construction was about to take place in the area, but first the government wanted to check what was "going on underneath." As is typical in the Old City, excavators were not disappointed with what they found.

At the western end of the plaza where the now-gutted police station once occupied an old Turkish building, Shlomit Wexler and Alexander On are the archeologists in charge of the excavation. On the day I visit, the site is a beehive of activity.

[...]