Archaeologists restore floor from Second Temple period on Jerusalem mount

(The Christian Science Monitor) Archaeologists in Jerusalem say that they have reconstructed part of the ancient stone floor of one of the holiest sites in the world, the ancient temple that Jews call Har HaBayit (Temple Mount), and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary).

It’s the first time that archaeologists have been able successfully to reconstruct elements of the site, known as the Second Temple, from the period of King Herod’s expansion of it about 2,000 years ago. The temple was destroyed by the Romans during a Jewish rebellion in AD 70.

Gabriel Barkay, cofounder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, wrote in a press release: “We have succeeded in recreating the actual tile patterns. This represents the first time that we can see with our own eyes the splendor of the flooring that decorated the Second Temple and its annexes 2,000 years ago.”