TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the Israeli Antiquities Authority has recently undertaken an investigation "over maintenance works of the Waqf" (presumably associated with the recent Waqf excavations by bulldozer) and have found, suprise! surprise!, a "sealed archaeological level" containing artifacts from the First Temple Period (Iron IIB, eighth- to sixth-centuries B.C.E.):

Yuval Baruch of the IAA, Prof. Sy Gitin, Director of the William F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Prof. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Ronny Reich of Haifa University examined the finds and the archaeological data and reached the conclusion that the characteristics and location of the finds may aid scholars in reconstructing the dimensions and boundaries of the Temple Mount during the First Temple Period.

The finds include fragments of bowls, including rims, bases and body sherds; the base of a juglet used for the ladling of oil; the handle of a small juglet and the rim of a storage jar. The bowl sherds were decorated with wheel burnishing lines characteristic of the First Temple Period. In addition, a piece of a white washed handmade object was found. It may have been used to decorate a larger object or may have been part of a figurine.

Joseph I. Lauer comments:

Well Glory Be! The IAA finally got off its duff and sent someone to look at the Temple Mount platform and found objects from the First Temple Period. Now, perhaps, they'll finally do a real inspection (and excavation) of the area being destroyed by the Waqf.

Ouch! By their inaction I guess the IAA has earned some criticism, although it's hard to tell how much their hands have been tied by the Government. In any case, I'm glad that at least they are doing something now. I don't know whether the Waqf is still digging, but if so, this information ought to be enough to make the Israeli Government put it to a end. But then, Barkay's sifting of earlier Waqf excavations has already provided ample data along these lines, so I can't say I'm optimistic.

As I've said any number of times (e.g., here), I would rather there be no digging on the Temple Mount by anyone until we have the technology to do it by nonintrusive and nondestructive means. But if there's going to be digging I want it to be by trained archaeologists, not workmen with a bulldozer.

As I was about to publish this post, an APF article on the finds came in on Lauer's list. It looks to be based on the MFA release, with nothing new.

Then, as I wrote the above sentence, Lauer sent out an Arutz Sheva piece that does have additional information, much of it wrong:

Finds on Temple Mount from First Temple

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The unauthorized dig of a trench this past summer by the Moslem Waqf on the Temple Mount, in the course of which it was assumed that precious findings were destroyed, apparently had a thin silver lining. Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) personnel monitoring the trench-digging have, for the first time, found traces of the First Temple.

The IAA studied an archaeological level dating to the First Temple Period, exposed in the area close to the south-eastern corner of the raised platform surrounding the Dome of the Rock.

Archaeological examination of a small section of this level, led by Jerusalem District Archaeologist Yuval Baruch, uncovered fragments of ceramic table wares, animal bones, and more. The finds date from the 8th to 6th centuries BCE; the First Temple existed between the 9th and 5th centuries BCE, having been built by King Solomon in 832 and destroyed in 422.

[...]

According to the Deuteronomistic Historian (in 1 Kings) Solomon's Temple was built in the tenth century (the 900s) BCE It was destroyed by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BCE (586/7 BCE). Sigh.

On Surah 17.1 and related traditions, see here and here.

And Lauer is on a roll! I can't even hit the publish button before he sends in something new. Here's one from Haaretz on the discoveries.

Archaeologists find link to 1st temple in controversial J'lem dig
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press

Israeli archaeologists overseeing a contested dig at Jerusalem's holiest site for Muslims and Jews stumbled upon a sealed archaeological level dating back to the era of the first biblical Jewish temple, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday.

[...]

And this one does have some additional and somewhat disquieting news:

Jon Seligman, Jerusalem regional archaeologist for the Antiquities Authority, said the find was significant since it could help scholars in reconstructing the dimensions and boundaries of the Temple Mount during the first temple period.

"The layer is a closed, sealed archaeological layer that has been undisturbed since the 8th century B.C.," he said.

But the Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, a group of Israeli archaeologists, downplayed the findings, saying the dig was conducted in an unprofessional manner without proper documentation. The group previously condemned the maintenance works, which included using a tractor to dig a trench, charging that digging at such a sensitive site could damage Bible-era relics and erase evidence of the presence of the biblical structures.

"I think it is a smoke screen for the ruining of antiquities," said Eilat Mazar, a member of the committee.

Seligman said the maintenance work was necessary to accommodate the thousands of worshippers who flock daily to the site. He said no damage was caused to the site and added that the discovery was merely a pleasant surprise.

[...]

It's difficult to know what is going on here without more information.

UPDATE (22 October): And this from the A.P. in the International Herald Tribune:

Israeli archaeologists overseeing contested Jerusalem dig find link to first Jewish Temple
The Associated Press
Published: October 21, 2007

JERUSALEM: Israeli archaeologists overseeing a contested dig at Jerusalem's holiest site for Muslims and Jews stumbled upon a sealed archaeological level dating back to the era of the first biblical Jewish temple, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday.

Islamic authorities responsible for the Old City compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, said the dig was part of infrastructure work at the site to replace 40-year-old electrical cables. But the Islamic Trust denied that any discovery was made, or that any Israeli archaeologists were supervising the work.

[...]

Interesting.

UPDATE: Reader Carla Sulzbach e-mails:

The article from Arutz 7 in which the phrase "The finds date from the 8th to 6th centuries BCE; the First Temple existed between the 9th and 5th centuries BCE, having been built by King Solomon in 832 and destroyed in 422" is found is not "wrong" in the sense that they used some random dates. They use the rabbinic chronography Seder Olam Rabbah. This work is the source of the Anno Mundi calculation and compresses the Persian Period to a mere 52 years and reduces the reign of ten kings to three. Earlier dates, as you can see from the article, are also dramatically off in comparison to the conventional chronology. Indeed, it is worrysome to see this creep into news articles - bad enough that certain publishing houses such as ArtScroll use it as fact.

Indeed.