August 11

An ancient stone quarry, one of the largest ever found in Jerusalem, was recently uncovered in an excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The quarry is believed to have been active at the end of the Second Temple period.

The excavated area, about 3,500 square meters in size, encompasses just one section of the quarry, composed of dozens of various-sized building blocks. Most of the hewn slabs extracted in the dig were huge, measuring up to about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long, 1.2 meters (4 feet) high, and 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) thick.

“Each such quarried block weighed two-and-a-half tons! Their impressive size likely attests to their intended use in one of Jerusalem’s many royal construction projects in the late Second Temple period, beginning under King Herod the Great’s reign between 37-4 BCE,” said excavation directors Michael Chernin and Lara Shilov in a statement.

In one corner of the quarry, the archeologists discovered an intact stone purification vessel typical of the bowls used by Jews during the Second Temple period. It will be exhibited at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Camps for the Archaeology of Israel, the IAA’s new headquarters in Jerusalem.

Second Temple-era massive quarry discovered in Jerusalem — A stone vessel discovered in the Har Hotzvim quarry. Photo by Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority

In another ongoing IAA excavation in the City of David, near the Old City of Jerusalem, the archeologists discovered a paved street, also dated to the late Second Temple period.

“It is reasonable to assume, with due caution, that at least some of the building stones extracted were intended to be used as pavement slabs for Jerusalem’s streets in that period,” according to the quarry excavation directors.

The quarry was found in the area of the Har Hotzvim high-tech park in the capital. Appropriately, the translation of Har Hotzvim is “Stonecutters Mountain.”

The excavation was funded by the Vitania real estate development company, the developer of the industrial complex.

IAA’s Jerusalem district supervisor, Amit Re’em, said: “We are working tirelessly, together with Vitania, to preserve the quarry and integrate it into the planned commercial complex. This way, the entire public will gain a lasting impression of this tremendous enterprise’s grandeur.”