‘Setting the clock’ for ancient Jerusalem, scientists date bridge to 2nd Temple

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A revolutionary radiocarbon-dating technique can now securely pinpoint when monumental structures in Jerusalem’s Old City — including the famed Wilson’s Arch — were constructed.

By meticulously collecting organic material in each excavated stratified layer and carbon-dating minuscule samples taken from ancient mortar, an interdisciplinary team from the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Antiquities Authority can now lay to rest abiding debates on when ancient Jerusalem structures were constructed. For a change, scientists are stepping out of the laboratory and into the field.

The specific focus of the project was Wilson’s Arch, which supported one of the main pathways to the Second Temple. It has been dated by three previously prevailing theories of its construction: early Roman (before 70 CE), mid-Roman (1st-2nd century as Aelia Capitolina), or even the early Islamic period, some 600 years later.

Wilson’s Arch was named after 19th-century British geographer Charles William Wilson who documented the site in a survey of Jerusalem.

According to the results of the new radiocarbon study, Wilson’s Arch was actually constructed in two phases — first around the time of the rule of Herod the Great (circa 37-4 BCE), the bridge was constructed to be 7.5 meters wide. A few decades later in the first century CE, the bridge’s width was doubled to 15 meters.

The reason behind the doubling in size still remains a mystery, IAA archaeologist Dr. Joe Uziel told The Times of Israel.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/setti...rusalem-scientists-finally-date-elusive-arch/
 
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