New Theory on Rock Fall at Western Wall in Jerusalem Archaeologist Shimon Gibson theorizes the huge stone-fall near the Western Wall might not have been caused by the Romans destruction of the Holy Temple with the end of the Great Revolt in 70 CE, but in a major earthquake that wracked Jerusalem in 363 CE. He presented this thesis for the first time at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, last week, and the theory has aroused disputes among several senior archaeologists. “Half of Jerusalem was destroyed during this earthquake,” says Gibson. “I suggest that the Temple Mount walls fell at the same time. The way the stones lie is also more consistent with an earthquake than destruction by man. I propose that perhaps the debris we see there are also from the destruction of 363 CE.” Prof. Ronny Reich, who was a partner in the original Southern Wall digs in the 1970s and ran the excavations in the ’90s together with Prof. Yaakov Billig, vehemently rejects Gibson’s theories. “It doesn’t hold water,” he states. Reich’s strongest evidence against the theory is a layer of mud or dirt several centimeters thick, which was discovered underneath the fallen stones. Read more about Prof. Gibsons controversial theory at our featured link below, courtesy of Haaretz. The Miriamne Page haaretz/news/features/.premium-1.635160
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:42:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015