Love of the Land

For the week ending 12 July 2008 / 9 Tammuz 5768

Stones of the Kotel

by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach zt'l
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Visitors to the Western Wall never fail to wonder about the source for the stones that were used to build this historic structure. One answer may be the result of a current excavation in Jerusalem's Sanhedria neighborhood.

Diggers of the Israel Antiquities Authority recently discovered an ancient quarry whose stones match the size of the smallest stones currently visible in the Western Wall. This is the second time in a year that archeologists have discovered quarries from the period of the Second Beit Hamikdash. Experts assume that although dozens of quarries have been found in Jerusalem, only these two were probably the source for the Wall's stones.

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