Sifting the Dirt of the Holiest Site on Earth

Since construction of an underground mosque on the Temple Mount (also known as the Haram es-Sharif) began in 1999, hundreds of tons of dirt and debris have been dumped in the Kidron Valley. Beginning in November 2004, veteran archaeologist Gabriel Barkay and his student Zachi Zweig have been sifting through this debris to recover whatever archaeological information they can.

So far Barkay and Zweig have found hundreds of ancient coins, jewelry, tesserae, arrowheads, a 2-foot long marble column, Egyptian scarabs, fragmented architectural remnants from Second Temple period monumental structures, Iron Age seals, fragments of figurines, weights and thousands of other finds.

The project is always looking for volunteers to come and help them sort through the thousands of years of history hidden in the dirt. They ask that individuals devote at least three days, and groups at least one day, to help them out.