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Temole Mounl
ourlng omavvad Perlod
Atop Temple Mount
1S
the Dome of the Rock (far left)
and Al Aqsa Mosque (silver dome. nght) Along west–
ern edge of Temple Mount wall is fragment of arch
from Herodian period. Caliph's palace, plctured in
reconstruct ion along southern wall of Temple Mount,
was linked to the mount by a small príva te bridge.
Other bu ildings in artlst's reconstruction were prob–
ably for servan ts. Only fragmentary architectural
remains of the Omayyad Period have been uncovered
by archaeologists.
There are two a rchaeologica l
phases in Jerusalem's Byzanline
period: Early Byzanline (A.D. 324-
451) and Late Byzantine
(A.
D. 45 1-
640).
Historically, Early Byzantine
roughly corresponds to the time
when the Roman Empire, now offi–
cially Christian, existed as a divided
entity with eastern and western
spheres.
The weslern real m of the Rornan
Empire was overrun by barbarían
bordes from 410-476. But Con–
stantinople maintained its strength
and continued to govern the eastern
Mediterranean until the early 600's.
Archaeological remains from this
second period a re referred to as
Late Byzantine.
Early Byzantine buildings
in
Jeru–
salem were established upon struc–
lures Ieft from the days when the
city was known as Aelia Capitolina.
For instance, the Roman bakery lo-
14
cated near Robinson's Arch was
remodeled and used as a prívate
dwelling. This and other houses
found nearby give the general im–
pression of a lightly inhabited resi–
dential neighborhood on the fringes
of the city. Coins found in the debris
of the houses indicate that they were
inhabited from the reign of Con–
stantine lhe Great lo the reign of
Julian the Apostate (361-363). Ju–
lian was the only Roman Emperor
after Constantine who attempted lo
restore the ancient pagan worship in
opposition to the official Christian
religion.
The buildings were destroyed by
fire, most like ly by Jews who re–
turned to attempt the rebuilding of
the Temple at the invitation of Em–
peror Julian. Evidence of this brief
period of Jewish reviva! in Jerusa–
lern has been discovered in the form
of an inscription carved into the
Western Wall of the Temple Mount
under Robinson's Arch. Il is a quote
from lsaiah 66:1 4: "... and when
you see this your heart shall rejoice
and your bones ... as an herb."
However, the joy and excitement of
this ancient graffiti was short- lived.
Julian died while returning from
battle againsl the Persians in 363,
and with him died yet another Jew–
ish hope.
The Late Byzantine period is rep–
resented at the excavations by two
complexes of private houses erected
upon the debris of the former phase.
One housing complex was centered
in the vicinity of Robinson's Arch.
The second was built just south of
the Huida Gates, which were still in
use. This conclusion is derived from
a thick !ayer of rich earth found
associated with an elaborate ne t–
work of irrigation channels and
pipes which indicates that the area
between these two groups of houses
was a garden.
PLAIN TRUTH
May 1974