Tiny weights hint at pre-Muslim Christian Temple Mt presence
Jan 28, 2024 21:01:37 GMT -5
Post by J.J.Gibbs on Jan 28, 2024 21:01:37 GMT -5
Tiny weights hint at pre-Muslim Christian presence on Temple Mount, say archaeologists
'It can be comfortably associated with a church'
WND News Services By WND News Services
Published January 28, 2024 at 8:20pm
Tiny Byzantine glass weight discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. (Image, left: Zev Radovan, illustration: Razia Richman)
(TIMES OF ISRAEL) -- Two recently discovered Byzantine-era coin weights are evidence there was a Christian presence on the Temple Mount before the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, and perhaps even point to an early church there, archaeologists said in a recent paper.
The weights were uncovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, which since 2004 has been discovering artifacts by methodically sifting through tons of dirt and debris extracted from the Temple Mount and dumped haphazardly outside the Old City walls by the Muslim Waqf authority during a 1999 construction project.
The small artifacts, one made of glass and one of brass, each weigh just 0.6 grams. Analysis indicates they were likely official imperial weights of a kind that were required by 6th century Byzantine law to be present in major churches.
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'It can be comfortably associated with a church'
WND News Services By WND News Services
Published January 28, 2024 at 8:20pm
Tiny Byzantine glass weight discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. (Image, left: Zev Radovan, illustration: Razia Richman)
(TIMES OF ISRAEL) -- Two recently discovered Byzantine-era coin weights are evidence there was a Christian presence on the Temple Mount before the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, and perhaps even point to an early church there, archaeologists said in a recent paper.
The weights were uncovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, which since 2004 has been discovering artifacts by methodically sifting through tons of dirt and debris extracted from the Temple Mount and dumped haphazardly outside the Old City walls by the Muslim Waqf authority during a 1999 construction project.
The small artifacts, one made of glass and one of brass, each weigh just 0.6 grams. Analysis indicates they were likely official imperial weights of a kind that were required by 6th century Byzantine law to be present in major churches.
link
