Solomon's Stables

Solomon's Stables
Entrance to the new El-Marwani mosque

Solomon's Stables (Hebrew: אורוות שלמה‎) or Marwani Mosque is an underground mosque some 600 square yards (500 square meters) beneath al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Solomon's Stables are located under the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount, 12½ metres below the courtyard and feature twelve rows of pillars and arches.

Contents

History

The mosque was initially a water reservoir that had been built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century, along with the stone wall currently surrounding al-Aqsa Mosque. Its overall structure closely resembles that of the Roman Ramla reservoir with stone pillars and junctions. That the reservoir was built at the same time as the wall is evident since the southern and eastern walls of the reservoir are a continuation of the wall surrounding al-Aqsa Mosque. Instead of an addition built long after the wall, the reservoir was built at the same time, as can be inferred from the joining of the stones.

The reservoir was used to collect water flowing into it from surrounding areas, through horizontal aqueducts made of stone and feeding into vertical canals in the external walls of the reservoir. One of these vertical canals can still be seen today and is located at the level of the main entrance of the Marwani mosque. It is semi-circular and is lined with a Roman fuller of limestone mixed with ground clay and sand. The flooring of the reservoir is made of stone, but is covered with layers of silt that have accumulated over the years.[1]

During the Umayyad reign, this reservoir was converted into a mussalah and was named the Marwani Mussalah, by the Islamic Umayyad Khalifa, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, along with the Dome of the Rock.[2] It remained so until the Crusaders converted it in 1099 into a stable for the infantry. The rings for tethering horses can still be seen on some of the pillars. The place used to be accessed from the single-panel gate located in the southern wall of al-Aqsa Mosque, which is also the southern wall of the Marwani mussalah.

The structure was called Solomon's Stables during Crusader times as a historical composite. 'Solomon's' refers to the First Temple which the Crusaders believed to be built on the site, while the 'stables' refers to the functional usage of the space by the Crusaders in the time of Baldwin II (King of Jerusalem 1118-1131 CE).[3]

Modern construction

In 1996, the waqf restored the mosque there, with a capacity for 7,000 worshipers.

The Southern Wall of the Temple Mount showing damaged area and criticized repair job as a bright white patch to right.[original research?]

Artifacts

The soil removed from the dig was dumped near the Mount of Olives and a salvage operation, the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation was undertaken in order to sift through the debris for archaeological remains. Many important finds have turned up.[4]

Popular culture

In popular culture, the area has become associated with the Knights Templar due to a claim in the 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code that the order maintained its headquarters here.

External links

References

Coordinates: 31°46′34.92″N 35°14′13.24″E / 31.7763667°N 35.2370111°E / 31.7763667; 35.2370111


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • JOEL, SOLOMON BARNATO — (1865–1931), South African mining magnate and financier. He was one of three brothers, sons of a Whitechapel shopkeeper and nephews of barney barnato . They succeeded to Barnato s financial empire after his suicide in 1897. Joel (who was known as …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Temple Mount — הַר הַבַּיִת, Har haBáyith الحرم الشريف, al Haram ash Sharīf, Elevation …   Wikipedia

  • Excavations at the Temple Mount — Excavations adjacent to Robinson s Arch Robinson s Arch …   Wikipedia

  • Archaeology of Israel — The archaeology of Israel is researched intensively in the universities of the region and also attracts considerable international interest on account of the region s Biblical links.Excavation in Israel continues at a relatively rapid pace and is …   Wikipedia

  • Syro-Palestinian archaeology — is a term used to refer to archaeological research conducted in the southern Levant. Palestinian archaeology is also commonly used in its stead,Davis, 2004, p. 146.] Dever, 2001, p. 61.] particularly when the area of inquiry centers on ancient… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Jerusalem — See also: Timeline of Jerusalem Jerusalem History …   Wikipedia

  • TEMPLE MOUNT — TEMPLE MOUNT, the trapezoid shaped (approximately rectangular) walled in area (approx. 140 dunams) in the southeastern corner of the Old City of Jerusalem. The four walls surrounding it (see western wall ) date – at least in their lower parts –… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Al-Aqsa Mosque — al Aqsa redirects here. For other uses, see al Aqsa (disambiguation). Al Aqsa Mosque Masjid al Aqsa Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • JERUSALEM — The entry is arranged according to the following outline: history name protohistory the bronze age david and first temple period second temple period the roman period byzantine jerusalem arab period crusader period mamluk period …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • TEMPLE — The article is arranged according to the following outline: first temple history structure the ground plan of the temple the detailed plan of the temple general description the porch THE MAIN ROOM (HEKHAL) OR HOLY PLACE …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”