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- Report: Waqf seals mysterious pit uncovered on Temple Mount
Report: Waqf seals mysterious pit uncovered on Temple Mount
Jewish organization urges Israeli authorities to conduct thorough archaeological investigation
A mysterious pit was discovered on the Temple Mount after a floor tile had collapsed into it on Sunday, the Jewish Press reported.
Israel Police had notified the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on the development, as various Jewish organizations urged authorities to inquire into the matter and possibly uncover significant archaeological findings.
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But the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday that the hole, near the Mughrabi Gate in the southwestern part of the compound, was filled with concrete by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf -- a Jordanian religious body with jurisdiction to manage Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount.
“The Temple Mount is the microcosm of the ancient world. Every meter on the Temple Mount has first-rate national importance,” spokesman of the Mate Hamikdash (Temple Headquarters) organization said as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
“The finds on the mountain reflect 3,000 years of Jewish activity at the site, and every pit dug in the site could shed light on thousands of years of Jewish history,” he added. “Whether it is a cistern from the days of Herod, or an opening of a cave from the days of King Solomon, from the escape caves he built at the bottom of the mountain, among other things to hide the Ark of the Covenant during a hostile onslaught.”
A Waqf advisor asserted that the pit was most likely a water conduit, the Jerusalem Post reported.
According to the Jewish Press, the Waqf has been conducting extensive renovations at the Temple Mount compound, which, some assume, has caused the exposure of the pit.
Over the years, the Waqf has illegally removed and dumped tons of earth from the holy site which was appropriated by archaeologists and volunteers who were able to uncover half a million artifacts from 3,000 years ago into the Middle Ages, the Jewish Press reported.