Archaeology of Israel - Damage To Sites

Damage To Sites

From 1948-1967, the Jordanian authorities and military forces engaged in what was described as "calculated destruction" in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. In a letter to the United Nations, Yosef Tekoa, Israel's representative to the UN, protested Jordan's "policy of wanton vandalism, desecration and violation," in which all the synagogues in the Old City apart from one were blown up or used as stables. In the ancient historic Jewish graveyard on the Mount of Olives, tens of thousands of tombstones, some dating from as early as 1 BCE, were torn out, broken or used as flagstones, steps and building materials in Jordanian military installations. Large areas of the cemetery were levelled and turned into parking lots and gas stations.

The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls were added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982, after it was nominated for inclusion by Jordan. Noting the "severe destruction followed by a rapid urbanization," UNESCO determined that the site met "the criteria proposed for the inscription of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger as they apply to both 'ascertained danger' and 'potential danger'."

Work carried out by the Islamic Waqf since the late 1990s to convert two ancient underground structures into a large new mosque on the Temple Mount damaged archaeological artifacts in that area of Solomon's Stables and the Huldah Gates. From October 1999 to January 2000, the Waqf authorities in Jerusalem opened an emergency exit to the newly renovated underground mosque, in the process digging a pit measuring 18,000 square feet (1,672 m2) and 36 feet (11 m) deep. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) expressed concern over the damage sustained to Muslim-period structures within the compound as a result of the digging. Jon Seligman, a Jerusalem District archaeologist told Archaeology magazine that, "It was clear to the IAA that an emergency exit was necessary, but in the best situation, salvage archaeology would have been performed first." Seligman also said that the lack of archaeological supervision "has meant a great loss to all of humanity. It was an archaeological crime."

Artifacts from the First Temple Period (ca. 960-586 BC) were destroyed when the thousands of tons of ancient fill from the site were dumped in the Kidron Valley and Jerusalem's municipal garbage dump, making it impossible to conduct archaeological examination. The Waqf was accused of trying to destroy evidence of Jewish remains. Eilat Mazar said the actions of the Waqf were linked to routine denials of the existence of the Jerusalem Temples by senior officials of the Palestinian Authority, who "want to turn the whole of the Temple Mount into a mosque for Muslims only. They don't care about the artifacts or heritage of the site."