Barkay on that mosaic floor in the Dome of the Rock

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Archaeologist Slams 'Islamic Brutality on the Temple Mount.' Archaeologist reveals ancient mosaic floor on Dome of Rock from Second Temple days damaged to degree as yet unknown. (Benny Toker, Ari Yashar, Arutz Sheva).

Archaeologist Dr. Gabi Barkay, director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the extent of the damage inflicted to the ancient mosaic floor of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount may never be known.

"The rugs that were donated by Abdullah the King of Jordan have already been attached to the floor, there is no documentation of the floor under the rugs - I was there and they didn't let me in," Barkay said. "The information we know is only from videos spread on the internet by Islamic sources."

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And here is more information on the date of the architecture:

"A portion of the floor is in halls surrounding the building since the Crusader Period, the other portion is in a more ancient cave, perhaps from 3,000 years BCE, and part of it is likely to be from the days of the Second Temple," said Barkay.

Describing the ancient mosaic floors, he said, "on one of the flooring tiles in the shape of a hexagon, when you tap it there's an empty space (below it); this is described in ancient sources as the 'well of spirits,' a place where there are the spirits of tzadikim (righteous people - ed.)."

Apparently he wisely ignored the nonsense about the flooring being the gateway to the Ark of the Covenant.

Background to the story, and also on the Temple Mount Sifting Project, is here.