Unearthing History: Discovering a Piece of King Solomon's Temple
The construction style described by the prophets—"three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams"—was not understood until ruins from that era were unearthed. Recently, new findings emerged in Dan, in a site linked to the Golden Calf from Solomon's Temple era.
- יהוסף יעבץ
- פורסם כ"ט ניסן התשפ"ד
#VALUE!
On Rosh Chodesh Iyar, King Solomon began building the First Temple nearly three thousand years ago.
To construct the Temple, Solomon requested cedars from his ally, Hiram, the King of Tyre, as it is written in the scriptures: "And Solomon sent to Hiram King of Tyre, saying, Behold, I build a house unto the name of Hashem my God, for the house that I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. Send me cedar trees, fir trees and algum-trees from Lebanon; for I know that thy servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, to prepare me wood in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderfully great" (Chronicles II).
The construction technique described by the prophets—"three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams"—was unclear until examples were found in the ruins of a house from that period and elsewhere. Recently, they were also found in Dan at the Golden Calf site from Solomon's Temple era. How was it possible to combine a row of hewn stones with a row of cedar beams? It turns out that these were massive cedar beams, as thick as the hewn stones.
Would you like to see one of these beams? Be our guest.
For several decades, the Temple Mount has housed wooden beams about ten meters long and half a meter wide. These enormous beams were sent for dating at the Weizmann Institute, and some dated back to Solomon's time!
The beams were part of ancient structures on the Mount and were dismantled over time. It is highly likely that at least some were beams cut by Hiram, King of Tyre, for Solomon nearly three thousand years ago, and they were part of the First Temple's construction.
Today, the beams lie inside the Temple Mount, near the Golden Gate. They are partially covered by black tarps, exposed to rain and sun, deteriorating over the years. These beams were removed from Al-Aqsa Mosque during renovations after the great earthquake that struck the Land of Israel in 1927.
The Muslims do not permit them to be moved, although they shift them around themselves. There is a claim that some were burned, and clearly some have disappeared.
