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Jerusalem - Haram esh-Sharif (aka Temple Mount) and adjacent Umayyad structures

Excavations of Umayyad Structures South and Southwest of Temple Mount Air view of Omayyad structures adjacent to Temple Mount, during excavations

Yadin et al (1976)


Name Tables

Transliterated Name Language Name
Haram esh-Sharif Arabic الحرم الشريف‎
Temple Mount
Jerusalem's holy esplanade
Har haBayīt Hebrew הַר הַבַּיִת‎
Transliterated Name Language Name
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā Arabic جامع الأقصى‎
al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī Arabic المصلى القبلي‎
al-Masjid al-'Aqṣa Arabic لمسجد الاقصى‎ ا‎
Transliterated Name Language Name
Dome of the Rock
Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḵra Arabic قبة الصخرة‎

Introduction
History of Al Aqsa Mosque

The al Aqsa, the third most sacred mosque in the Muslim religion (after Mecca and Medina), was constructed at the southern side of Temple Mount at the end of the 7th and early 8th century. It is a traditional stone masonry building. Damaged in the 710 and 713/14(?) EQs, and destroyed in the 749 (746 -748?) EQ, it was rebuilt in 758. It was again damaged due to poor construction and/or EQs in 771 and 774, and then rebuilt on a new plan in 780. It was again damaged in 859, 1033, following which extensive rebuilding took place in 1035, including the cupola that still stand to this day. In 1060 the roof of al Aqsa collapsed. The Crusaders who occupied Jerusalem in 1099 turned it into a royal palace, and part of it was given to the Templars. During that period some internal changes took place and several wings were added. No EQ damage to the al Aqsa was reported until 1927. However, the British, who occupied Palestine in 1917, found the mosque, and also other building in Temple Mount, in a state of total neglect and on the verge of collapse. Restoration work started in 1924 most probably saved the building from total collapse in the 1927 EQ. The damage from the 1927 event was extensive (Fig. 7), and necessitated the continuation of the restoration. Following a minor EQ in 1937 extensive restoration took place during 1938-1942, involving demolition of the eastern longitudinal walls and arcades. Old columns were replaced by new marble ones imported from Italy. Following arson in 1969, the mosque was severely damaged, and restoration work was completed only in the mid 1990's. Stabilization of the mosque's foundations by massive concreting in the underground voids adjacent to the Ancient al Aqsa (or the Double Gate) - located under the mosque - was carried out in the 1970's, and its extensive excavations and restoration of took place in the 1990's. A detailed description of the mosque can be found in Hamilton's monograph (1949).

History of the Dome of the Rock

After the conquest of Jerusalem in 638 the Muslims embraced the sanctity of Temple Mount, and built the original al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, both at the late 7th and early 8th century. The octagonal building dates from the early 9th century. It is covered by two practically independent wooden domes: an external one of an elliptical shape recently covered by gilded copper sheets, and internal one of circular shape, with circa one metre space between the two to allow inspection and maintenance. Whereas the present ornamented internal dome dates from the early 11th century, the external one, built to protect the former, is recent. After the reoccupation of Jerusalem by the Arabs in 1187 the dome was refurbished. The building is considered to be an architectural gem by most experts.

The structure was severely damaged by the 749 (746-748?) EQ. Renovation started in the 780's and apparently completed by Mamoun in 813. Some damage to the dome, or just the fall of its candelabra, was reported following the 1060 EQ. The dome was damaged again in 1068. The 1546 ML = 7 EQ caused the collapse of the dome. As already noted, the British found the Dome of the Rock in a state of neglect, and restoration work started in 1924. It is difficult to estimate the effect of the 1927 EQ on the building. One press report stated that the Dome of the Rock was badly shaken and many repairs of recent years were made useless.

Jerusalem - Introduction Webpage

Maps, Aerial Views, Plans, Drawings, Sections, and Photos
Maps, Aerial Views, Plans, Drawings, Sections, and Photos

Maps

  • Fig. 1.11 Plan of early Islamic Jerusalem from Whitcomb (2016)

Aerial Views

Normal Size

  • Aerial photo of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) during excavations from Yadin et al (1976)
  • Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif in Google Earth
  • Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif on govmap.gov.il

Magnified

  • Aerial photo of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) during excavations from Yadin et al (1976)

Plans and Drawings

Haram esh-Sharif (aka Temple Mount)

Normal Size

  • Plan of Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)

Magnified

  • Plan of Haram esh-Sharif (aka Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)

Umayyad Structures

Normal Size

  • Plan of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of Building 2 from Prag (2000)
  • Fig. 9 - Reconstruction of area south of Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) in the Umayyad period from Whitcomb in Galor and Avni (2011)
  • Isometric reconstruction of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)
  • Fig. 2 Reconstruction of Umayyad Structures from Lassner (2017)
  • Fig. 3 Cross-section of the Umayyad Palace from Lassner (2017)

Magnified

  • Plan of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)
  • Fig. 1 - Plan of Building 2 from Prag (2000)
  • Fig. 9 - Reconstruction of area south of Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) in the Umayyad period from Whitcomb in Galor and Avni (2011)
  • Isometric reconstruction of Umayyad structures adjacent to Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount) from Yadin et al (1976)

Al-Aqsa Mosque

Normal Size

  • Reconstruction of Al Aqsa Mosque in the 8th century CE from Yadin et al (1976)

Magnified

  • Reconstruction of Al Aqsa Mosque in the 8th century CE from Yadin et al (1976)

Dome of the Rock

  • Fig. 7 Reconstruction of the Dome of the Rock from Lassner (2017)

Stratigraphic Section

Fig. 4.

Section E 6, cutting through the street some 5 m east of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (lowest height 715 m above sea-level).

JW: 5 m west of the SW corner of Temple Mount and not the same as Warren's shaft in the City of David next to the Gihon spring

Mazar (1969)


Photos

  • Plate II/5 Stratum A1 of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount - paved street and Umayyad Building - from Mazar (1969)
  • Plate II/6 Stratum A1 of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount - foundation of the pavement to the left of the gate of the Umayyad Building - from Mazar (1969)
  • Plate II/7 Stratum A1 of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount - pavement and the plastered water channel - from Mazar (1969)

Archaeoseismic Chronology
Phasing

Ard el-Khatuniyye adjacent to and south of Temple Mount and the southern terminus of the Western Wall near Robinson's Arch (possibly Dar al-Imara)

Stratigraphic Section

Fig. 4.

Section E 6, cutting through the street some 5 m east of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (lowest height 715 m above sea-level).

JW: 5 m west of the SW corner of Temple Mount and not the same as Warren's shaft in the City of David next to the Gihon spring

Mazar (1969)


Stratigraphic Table

Strata Period Description
A8
A7 After the Seljuk conquest of Jerusalem in 1071 CE ?
A6 Arab Fatimid
A5 Arab Fatimid
A4 Arab Fatimid
A3 Arab
A2 Arab Post Umayyad
A1 Early Arab Umayyad
B1 - B4 Byzantine
R1 - R2 Roman
H Herodian the period from Herod the Great to the destruction of the Second Temple

Stratum A1 Earthquake - mid-8th century CE

Stratigraphic Section

Stratigraphic Section

Fig. 4.

Section E 6, cutting through the street some 5 m east of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (lowest height 715 m above sea-level).

JW: 5 m west of the SW corner of Temple Mount and not the same as Warren's shaft in the City of David next to the Gihon spring

Mazar (1969)


Discussion
Discussion

References
Notes by JW

Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically.

Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245).

Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101) reported the following:

So far, six enormous buildings have been found, comprising a single complex. The plan of the largest of them, building II, closely resembles those of the palaces of the Omayyad period in this country, in Transjordan and in Syria.

... The stratigraphic picture and the finds confirm this dating. Beneath the floors of the building and beneath the associated streets - houses, installations and channels came to light together with an abundance of finds including much pottery and thousands of coins, and stamped roof-tiles of the Byzantine period — all from late in that period. In the stratum above the building-complex, which was destroyed in a natural catastrophe and not rebuilt (see below), remains of a very meagre settlement of the 9th century C.E. were found amongst the ruins. The complex had been equipped with a broad, well-planned sewer network, which remained unknown to the people of the meagre settlement. Various finds came to light in this sewer network, which relate to the latest phase of its use, including complete pottery vessels of "Khirbet Mefjer ware", and coins of the 8th century C.E. This was a most important archaeological discovery, for it is the first time large structures of the Omayyad period (660-750 C.E.) were found outside the Haram esh-Sherif.

... At the end of the Byzantine period, a residential quarter lay adjacent to the walls of the Temple Mount, which appear to have towered to their full height at that time. This quarter included public buildings, and private houses of one and two storeys, with open areas between utilized for gardening. The Parthian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 C.E. also left its imprint here. The Southern Wall was especially damaged, a large breach having been forced. During the Byzantine reconquest, and early in the period of the Arab conquest, no significant changes seem to have taken place in this area, occurring only under the Omayyad caliphs, who established an extensive religious centre in Jerusalem. Of this project we had known only of the structures within the Haram: the Dome of the Rock, el-Aqsa mosque and other smaller monuments. We now know that the large breach in the Southern Wall was repaired by the planners of the entire Omayyad complex, and that the "Double Gate" in its present form was also built by them.

The six structures uncovered were planned as a complex in conjunction with the Temple Mount. As noted, the outstanding structure is building II, which we have defined as a palace. This definition is based largely on the evidence of a bridge which had connected the roof of building II with el-Aqsa mosque, spanning the street running along the Southern Wall and enabling direct access from the roof of the building into the mosque. It is assumed that the place was erected by the Caliph el-Walid I (705-715 C.E.).

... The existence of a second storey in building II is indicated by the level of the abovementioned bridge, as well as by a system of drain-pipes lying within the walls, leading to the central sewers beneath the groundfloor-level. There seem to have been various installations in this upper storey, such as kitchens and toilets.

... The five other buildings around building II have only incompletely been excavated, and thus their full study remains for the future.

... From among the plethora of finds from these buildings, we may note the large number of architectural fragments — capitals, friezes, architraves and balustres, as well as fresco fragments and some stucco-work. Among the many pottery types of this period, most notable are the zoomorphic and glazed vessels, which already began making their appearance in this country at this time. Many gold, silver and bronze coins have come to light, mostly struck at Ramla and Jerusalem ("Aelia", on the coins), and some from Damascus. Glassware, metal objects and bone implements also were found.

The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year".

The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material. In the 11th century it served as a cemetery, indicating that the immense complex which had stood here was entirely forgotten. The history of the site in Abbasid through Ottoman times reflects its wretched state. From time to time, ripples of activity were felt here, but the few structures which rose over the ruins were of a private nature, and the area never recovered its former splendour.
Prag (2000:245) reports that according to Ben-Dov (1976: 101; 1985: 276), on the evidence from the contents of the drains, the palace was destroyed in the great earthquake of A.D. 749.

Zimni-Gitler in Lichtenberger and Raja (2025)

Al-Haram al-Sharif

The earthquake damage in and around the area of the al-Haram al-Sharif is well documented by historical sources and by archaeological evidence. The area (Fig. 10.1 no. 1) experienced massive remodelling at the beginning of the Umayyad period, when the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, as well as Umayyad buildings (Fig. 10.1 no. 2) located south of the religious edifices were built.9

Unfortunately, the archaeological evidence that can be gathered from the Holy Sanctuaries — the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock — is limited.9 Therefore, the study of the written accounts is an essential source for investigating the extent of the architectural damage in this area. For instance, it is described by al-Wasiti that the al-Aqsa Mosque suffered severe damage from an earthquake in the middle of the eighth century AD.10 He tells that in the days of the reign of Caliph al-Mansur (AD 754–775), the eastern and western portions of the mosque fell due to an earthquake in the year AH 130.11 As a consequence, Caliph al-Mansur ordered the mosque’s restoration. Since no money was available for this, it is also known from the description of al-Wasiti, that the gold and silver plates decorating the mosque’s gates were to be stripped off, and dinars and dirham were to be coined from them.12 Moreover, he also stated that shortly afterwards another earthquake hit the mosque, which was then restored by the caliph’s successor, Caliph al-Mahdi.13

Furthermore, in the tenth century AD the writer al-Muqadassi wrote about the earthquake damage in the mosque: he described that the earthquake destroyed most of the building, except for the corner around the mihrab.14

South of the Mosque complex, several buildings were constructed during the Umayyad period. Those are interpreted as administrative centres,15 whereas one of these buildings (‘Building ii’) stands out as a possible ‘Umayyad palace’.16 According to the excavators, this complex shows clear archaeological evidence of damage by the 749 earthquake. The damage is described as “cracked walls and warped foundations, fallen columns and sunken floors.”17 The archaeological material also provides evidence for the dating of this destruction: a sewage channel within one of the buildings was blocked shortly before the building went out of use. The material found there was interpreted as Khirbet Mafjar Ware, dating to the first half of the eighth century AD.18
Footnotes

9. Only reports of earlier investigations are available (Hamilton 1949; Grafman and Rosen-Ayalon 1999).

10. It needs to be kept in mind that the dating of the described earthquake damage cannot be clarified with certainty.

11. al-Wasiti, Fada'il al-Bayt al-Muqaddas, no. 137, p. 92; referring to AD 747/748 according to Karcz 2004, 780.

12. al-Wasiti, Fada'il al-Bayt al-Muqaddas, no. 137, p. 92. Here, it is debatable whether al-Wasiti refers only to the Mosque itself or the entire Haram al-Sharif area (Elad 1995, n. 77).

13. al-Wasiti, Fada'il al-Bayt al-Muqaddas, no. 256, p. 92. For a suggestion of the archaeological layout of these rebuilding measures see Küchler 2007, 226–34. G. Le Strange assumes the year AD 770–771 for the visit of Caliph al-Mansur, whereas others suggest that this visit already took place in AD 758 (Elad 1995, 40; Küchler 2007, 228).

14. al-Muqadassi, The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, trans. by B. Collins, p. 276.

15. Rosen-Ayalon 1989, 8.

16. Ben-Dov 1985; Rosen-Ayalon 1989, 8–11.

17. Ben-Dov 1985, 321.

18. Ben-Dov 1985, 2–20; however, this chronology by the early excavators was doubted by J. Magness who redates the construction date of these buildings as well as doubting their damage from the 749 earthquake due to ceramic evidence supporting the buildings’ existence throughout the Abbasid period (Magness 2010, 153). However, in the author’s opinion, the damage described by the excavators does suggest that a destructive event, such as an earthquake, occurred in these buildings, resulting in the described architectural remains.

Archaeoseismic Effects
Stratum A1 Earthquake - mid-8th century CE

Effect Location Image Description
  • Collapsed Walls           
  • Collapsed and Fallen Columns
  • Cracked Walls
  • Warped foundations
  • Sunken floors
  • Partial Repairs
  • Debris


  • Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically.

  • Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245).

  • The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year".

    The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material.
    - Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101)

Archaeoseismic Intensity Estimates
Stratum A1 Earthquake - mid-8th century CE

Effect Location Image Description Intensity
  • Collapsed Walls           
  • Collapsed and Fallen Columns
  • Cracked Walls (penetrative fractures in masonry blocks)
  • Warped foundations
  • Sunken floors (Anthropic compacted stratum)
  • Partial Repairs
  • Debris


  • Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically.

  • Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245).

  • The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year".

    The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material.
    - Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101)
  • VIII+
  • V+ and VIII+
  • VI+
  • IX+ (not from EAE Chart)
  • VI+-VII+
  • n/a
  • n/a
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224). Warped foundations suggest a higher intensity (IX+) but, without photos or detailed descriptions, I am unsure if this reflects true foundation damage.

Notes and Further Reading
References

Articles and Books

Baruch, Y., and Reich, R. 1999 Renewed Excavations at the Umayyad Building III. Pp. 128-40 in New Studies on Jerusalem: Proceedings of the Fifth Conference, Dec. 23,1999, ed. A. Faust and E. Ba- ruch. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press. (in Hebrew)

Ben-Dov, M. 1971 The Omayyad Structures near the Temple Mount. Pp. 37-44 in The Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem near the Temple Mount: Second Preliminary Report 1969-70 Seasons, ed. B. Mazar. Jerusalem.

Ben-Dov, M. 1976 The Area South of the Temple Mount in the Early Islamic Period. Pp. 97-101 in Je- rusalem Revealed: Archaeology in the Holy City 1968-1974, ed. Y. Yadin. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Ben-Dov, M. Broshi, M., and Tsafrir, Y. 1977 Excavations at the Zion Gate

Ben-Dov, M. 1983 Jerusalem's Fortifications: The City Walls, Gates and the Temple Mount. Tel-Aviv: Zemorah- Bitan. [Hebrew]

BEN Dov, M. (1985): In the shadow of the Temple, Keter, Jerusalem.

BEN Dov, M. (2002): Historical atlas of Jerusalem, Continuum, London. - site specific archeoseismic evidence is not presented.

Ben-Dov, M. 1993 Jerusalem Fortifications and Citadel: Eighth to 11th Centuries. Pp. 793-95 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 2, ed. E. Stern,Ben-Dov, M.

Broshi, M., and Gibson, S. 1994 Excavations Along the Western and Southern Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Pp. 147-55 in Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, ed. H. Geva. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

Galor, K. and G. Avni (2011). Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 years of archaeological research in the Holy City, Penn State Press.

Gevaʿ, H. (2019). Ancient Jerusalem revealed: archaeological discoveries, 1998-2018, Israel Exploration Society.

Grabar, O., Al-Asad, M., Audeh, A., Nuseibeh, S. (1996). The shape of the holy: early Islamic Jerusalem. United Kingdom: Princeton University Press.

Hamilton, R. W. (1944) Excavations Against the North Wall of Jerusalem, 1937—8. Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine 10: 1-54.

Lewinson-Gilboa, A. and Aviram, J. (1994). Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. 1994 Excavations and Architectural Survey of the Archaeological Remains along the Southern Wall of the Jerusalem Old City. Pp. 311-20 in Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, ed. H. Geva. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. - can be borrowed with a free account from archive.org

Lassner, J. (2017). Medieval Jerusalem: Forging an Islamic City in Spaces Sacred to Christians and Jews. United States: University of Michigan Press.

Magness, J. (1991). "The Walls of Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period." The Biblical Archaeologist 54(4): 208-217.

Magness, J. (2010) 'Early Islamic Urbanism and Building Activity in Jerusalem and at Hammath Gado. ; in J. Haldon (ed.), Money, Power and Politics in Early Islamic Syria: An Interdisciplinary Review of Current Debates (Burlington: Roudcdgc), pp. 147-63.

Mazar, B. (1969) The Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, EI 9 (1969), pp. 161-174, ref.p. 173 (Hebrew).

Mazar, B. (1969) The excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1969), 20

Mazar (1975) The Mountain of the Lord. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. 269

Mazar, E. and B. Mazar (1989). "Excavations In The South Of The Temple Mount: The Ophel of Biblical Jerusalem." Qedem 29: III-187.

Mazar, B. (1971). The Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Near the Temple Mount — Second Preliminary Report, 1969—70 Seasons / החפירות הארכיאולוגיות ליד הר-הבית: סקירה שנייה, עונות תשכ"ט—תש"ל. Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies / ארץ-ישראל: מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה, י, 1–34. (in Hebrew)

Mazar, E. (2007) The Ophel Wall in Jerusalem in the Byzantine Period. Pp. 181-200 in The Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem 1968-1978 Directed by Benjamin Mazar, Final Reports, vol. 3: The Byzantine Period. Qedem 46. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University.

Prag, K. (2000) Umayyad Building II in Jerusalem in ICAAANE - Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Volume 2 22-26 May 2000, Copenhagen ed. Ingolf Thuesen

Rosen-Ayalon, M. (1989) 'The Early Islamic Monuments of Haram-al-Sharif: An Iconographic Study' , Qedem, 28: 1-73. - at JSTOR

Rutenberg, A. and Levy, R. Damage Assessment: Some Comments on Seismicity in Israel, Performance Assessment & Damage to Historic Monuments in Jerusalem - report from PROHITECH - WP2 Technion-Israel Institute of Technology - open access at archive.org

Sharon, M. (2009) "Shape of the Holy." SO 107 : 38-51.

Tsafrir, Y. (2000) Procopius and the Nea Church in Jerusalem. An Tard 8: 149-64.

Weksler-Bdolah, S. 2001 Jerusalem, The Old City Walls. Hadashot Arkheologiot / Excavations and Surveys in Israel 113: 79*-80*.

Weksler-Bdolah, S. (2003) The Fortifications of Jerusalem During Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods (3rd/4th to 8th cent.). M.A. thesis. Jerusalem: Hebrew University. [Hebrew]

Weksler-Bdolah, S. (2005) Jerusalem, the New Gate. Excavations and Surveys in Israel: 117

Weksler-Bdolah, S. 2006 The Old City Walls of Jerusalem: The Northwestern Corner. Atiqot 54: 95-119 [Hebrew]; 163-64 [English summary].

Weksler-Bdolah, S. 2006-7 The Fortifications of Jerusalem in the Byzantine Period. Aram 18-19: 85-112.

Weksler-Bdolah, S., 2007 Reconsidering the Byzantine Period City Wall of Jerusalem. Eretz-Israel 28: 88-101. [Hebrew]

Weksler-Bdolah, S. 2011 The Fortification System in the Northwestern Part of Jerusalem from the Early Islamic to the Ottoman Periods. Atiqot 65: 105-30 [Hebrew]; 73*-75* [English summary].

Weksler-Bdolah, S. forthcoming Jerusalem, Kikar Zahal's tunnel. Hadashot Arkheologiot.

Wellhausen, J. (1973): The arab kingdom and its fall, Curzon Press, London, pp. 592.

Whitcomb, D. (2011) 'Jerusalem and the Beginnings of the Islamic City' , in K. Gator and G. Avni (eds), Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns), pp. 311-30.

Whitcomb, D. (2016) “Notes for an archaeology of Muʿāwiya: material culture in the transitional period of believers.” In A. Borrut and F. M. Donner, eds. Christians and Others in the Umayyad State. (2016). United States: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Wightman, G.J. (1993): Walls of Jerusalem, Mediterranean Archaeology Studies Suppl. 4 (Med. Arch Univ. Sydney), p. 331.

Yadin, Y. and R. Grafman ed. (1976). "Jerusalem revealed : archaeology in the Holy City, 1968-1974." Yale University Press and the Israel Exploration Society

Zimni-Gitler, J. (2025) Chapter 10. Traces of the AD 749 Earthquake in Jerusalem: New Archaeological Evidence from Mount Zion , in Lichtenberger, A. and Raja, R. (2025) Jerash, the Decapolis, and the Earthquake of AD 749, Brepolis

Dome of the Rock
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  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


Dome of the Rock

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


Temple Mount (aka Haram esh-Sharif)

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


kmz's for Site Visits
kmz's

kmz Description Reference
Right Click to download Master Jerusalem kmz file various