Please Note: The
regular Mount Zion excavation season for 2010 has been postponed until
June/July, 2011 to allow the directors and staff to complete necessary
post-excavation field work and reports related to our site and finds
from the past three years (2007-2009). Please direct any questions to
Dr. James D. Tabor at jdtabor@uncc.edu
We welcome you to our Web site and invite you to explore its various layers to learn more about our excavation and how you might participate and support this exciting and most promising endeavor.
Our Mt Zion excavation site is just outside the present Old City wall,
along the road between the Zion Gate and the Dung Gate, but in Roman
times it was well inside the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem.
Nearby are many important places in the history of Jerusalem, namely
the Praetorium where Jesus was tried before Pontius Pilate, and the
House of Caiaphas and the other priestly families in the Upper City of
Jerusalem in the first century C.E. In the Byzantine period, the area
was situated at the southern end of the Cardo Maximus, which was a
grand columned street and in its vicinity Justinian (mid sixth century)
built a very large church (the Nea). The summit of Mount Zion was a
focus for the building of houses in the Early Islamic Period. The
Crusaders and the Ayyubids built their fortifications across the crest
of the hill, and in the early 13th century, the local Sultan destroyed
the gate-tower, which was located in the area of our excavation.
Congratulations to Melissa Fleischer, one of our 2009 diggers and a M.A. student at UNC Charlotte, who is on the cover of the January/February Biblical Archaeology Review magazine highlighting both our Mt Zion dig and the wonderful team members who join us each season.
A unique ten-line inscription on the side of a stone cup commonly used for ritual purity during the first century CE was uncovered during the 2009 season of excavations. Inscriptions of this kind are extremely rare and only a handful has been found in scientific excavations made within the city. This new inscription is presently being deciphered by epigraphic experts in an effort to determine the meaning of the text, which is clear but cryptic. The dig also produced a sequence of building remains dating from the history of Jerusalem, from the First and Second Temple periods through to Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.
A house complex from the Second Temple period with an mikve (purification pool) with a remarkably well preserved vaulted ceiling was uncovered during this season. Inside this house were three bread ovens with a level of burning dating from the year 70 CE when Titus and the Roman troops stormed the city. We think that this area of the Upper City of Jerusalem served as the priestly quarter of Jerusalem during Second Temple times. In support of this were interesting finds including an ornate window screen made of stone. Ten murex shells were also found and these were used for producing the argaman dye which was used for the coloring of the priestly vestments at that time.
In addition, a large arched building with a mosaic floor (preserved to a height of 3 metres) from the Byzantine period was also uncovered; perhaps it is part of a building complex or street associated with the nearby Church of St Mary (the Nea).
Many coins, pottery, and stone artifacts were among the finds. Please visit our website again soon for more images and reports of last month's dig.
Congratulations to Melissa Fleischer, one of our 2009 diggers and a M.A. student at UNC Charlotte, who is on the cover of the January/February Biblical Archaeology Review magazine highlighting both our Mt Zion dig and the wonderful team members who join us each season.
A unique ten-line inscription on the side of a stone cup commonly used for ritual purity during the first century CE was uncovered during the 2009 season of excavations. Inscriptions of this kind are extremely rare and only a handful has been found in scientific excavations made within the city. This new inscription is presently being deciphered by epigraphic experts in an effort to determine the meaning of the text, which is clear but cryptic. The dig also produced a sequence of building remains dating from the history of Jerusalem, from the First and Second Temple periods through to Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.
