RItmeyer on those floor tiles

LEEN RITMEYER: Flooring from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Some expert commentary on the important discovery of floor tiles that are arguably associated with the Herodian Temple, as recently announced by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. One brief excerpt:

All the known opus sectile floors were laid indoors and not outdoors. These delicately constructed floors would not have survived long outside in the sometimes harsh Mediterranean climate. We suggest therefore that they came from the interior of some of the many buildings that surrounded the Temple and/or from under the colonnades around the smaller courts.

Background here and links. Cross-file under Temple Mount Watch.