Temple Mount Mosaic, 5th-7th century

Zachi Zweig announced that he made an interesting discovery in the British archaeological archives at the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem. Although we have no written historical evidence of a Byzantine structure on the Temple Mount, R.W. Hamilton uncovered and photographed a Byzantine mosaic on the mount. He carried out excavations in the ’30s in conjunction with repair work undertaken by the Wakf. The mosaic floor was evidently part of a public building, possibly a church. Hamilton noted that underneath the mosaic was a mikveh from the Second Temple period. This evidence is significant because no excavations have been undertaken on the Temple Mount since the establishment of the State of Israel.