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Temple Mount Sifting Project

Prof. Gabriel Barkay, co-director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, on May 30, 2019. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
January 14, 2026, 5:03 pm
Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, pioneer of Temple Mount research, dies at 81
Discoverer of the Ketef Hinnom scrolls and founder of Temple Mount Sifting Project was a larger-than-life figure who stirred controversy, loved Jerusalem and made the city his mission
By Rossella Tercatin
Dr. Ayala Zilberstein, excavation director at the Davidson Archaeological Park in Jerusalem on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, holds a 2,700-year-old pottery fragment bearing the first-ever Assyrian inscription found in the city. The discovery was announced on October 22, 2025. (Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority)
October 22, 2025, 3:16 pm
Biblical tax notice: 1st-ever Assyrian inscription found near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
2,700-year-old fragment of pottery suggests Judeans delayed paying their tributes to the empire, echoing the events described in the book of II Kings
By Rossella Tercatin
Temple Mount Sifting Project archaeologist Mordechai Ehrlich holds a First Temple period clay sealing reading “Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu” found in July 2025. (Temple Mount Sifting Project)
July 30, 2025, 5:04 pm
Tiny 2,600-year-old clay sealing inscribed with biblical name found in Temple Mount soil
Minuscule artifact discovered at the Jerusalem-based Temple Mount Sifting Project may reference an official who worked for King Josiah and who appears in II Kings and II Chronicles
By Rossella Tercatin
Clay token found in the sifting of dirt from the Temple Mount, bearing a Greek inscription and impression of a wine jug. (Zachi Dvira/Temple Mount Shifting Project)
April 21, 2024, 10:15 pm
Intriguing Greek-inscribed token was likely traded for feast offerings at Second Temple
Experts think several small clay artifacts uncovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project were used by visitors to Jerusalem during the three pilgrimage festivals
By Gavriel Fiske
Tiny Byzantine glass weight discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. (image, left: Zev Radovan, illustration: Razia Richman)
January 28, 2024, 11:20 am
Tiny weights hint at pre-Muslim Christian presence on Temple Mount – archaeologists
Byzantine-era coin weights, newly discovered in debris from the Jerusalem holy site, are of a type used in 6th century church settings
By Gavriel Fiske
Portrait of former Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel at his home in Jerusalem, April 17, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
May 29, 2023, 8:14 pm
Former Supreme Court justice Yaakov Turkel dies aged 88
Turkel authored several important rulings upholding freedom of expression, and commissions he headed bolstered gay rights and exonerated the IDF over a deadly Gaza flotilla raid
By Jeremy Sharon
The clay stamp of Hisilyahu son of Immer, who served as an officials managing the so-called Temple Treasuries. (Tzachi Dvira/Temple Mount Sifting Project)
January 6, 2022, 2:42 pm
Tiny clay seals reveal First Temple royal treasuries in Jerusalem, researchers say
Bullae recovered from Temple Mount soil and ancient buildings in Ophel Park bear impression of woven fabric, indicating they were used on bags of silver and jars of produce
By ToI Staff
The silver coin engraved with a cup and the caption "Israel Shekel" and the letters: Shin and Bet (the second year of the Great Revolt) (Eliyahu Yanai/City of David)
November 23, 2021, 12:52 pm
Rare silver ‘rebel coin,’ maybe minted at Temple 2,000 years ago, found in Jerusalem
Experts suggest shekel coin may have been made by priests assisting Great Revolt against Romans, using precious metal from holy site’s plentiful reserves
By ToI Staff
A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews pray near the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, June 18, 2018. Officially, Jewish prayer atop the mount is forbidden. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/ Times of Israel/ File)
July 18, 2021, 2:31 pm
Daily Briefing July 18 – Why Jews are increasingly praying on the Temple Mount
Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today
By ToI Staff
Visitors sifting buckets of earth from the Temple Mount at the relaunch of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, June 2, 2019. (Yosef Huri)
July 16, 2021, 2:28 pm
Podcast: On 9 B’Av, find evidence of destruction at Temple Mount Sifting Project
What better way to commemorate the razing of the First and Second Temples than by ‘rescuing’ artifacts from Judaism’s most holy site that were dumped as garbage by the Muslim Waqf?
By ToI Staff
Archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar and several of her prominent finds. (Hebrew University/Ouria Tadmor)
May 26, 2021, 8:22 pm
Fearless pioneering biblical archaeologist Eilat Mazar dies at 64
Hebrew University scholar who unearthed ‘King David’s palace’ leaves a lasting contribution to the understanding of the archaeology and history of ancient Israel and Jerusalem
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
A First Temple-era gold bead discovered in earth from the Temple Mount Sifting Project. (courtesy)
November 26, 2020, 7:29 pm
Gold bead, apparently lost on Temple Mount 3,000 years ago, found by 9-year-old
When Binyamin Milt uncovered the bead as he sifted earth for Temple Mount Sifting Project, it was so well-preserved that archaeologists initially didn’t realize its unique nature
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Zeev Elkin (left), Director of American Friends of Beit Orot Shlomo Zwickler (right), and archaeologist Prof. Gabriel Barkay (far right) sift for artifacts at the relaunch of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, June 2, 2019. (Yosef Huri)
June 7, 2019, 2:04 pm
Temple Mount Sifting Project reboots, aims to salvage ancient temple artifacts
At Jerusalem Day event, minister vows funds for project in which 500,000 artifacts from all eras of J’lem settlement have already been found in dirt illegally dumped by Muslim Waqf
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
View of the site where a large chunk of stone dislodged from the Western Wall in Jerusalem at the mixed-gender prayer section on July 23, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 23, 2018, 4:09 pm
Archaeologist says entire Western Wall is ‘danger zone,’ public should stay away
Warning of ‘multiple cracks’ after boulder falls, Zachi Dvira says people should not be allowed near holy site — neither in the mainstream prayer pavilion nor at Robinson’s Arch
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Archaeologist Zachi Dvira on the Temple Mount, June 18, 2018. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
June 22, 2018, 2:58 pm
Muslim cleanup project ‘illegally disturbed, removed’ ancient soil on Temple Mt
Ramadan ‘beautification’ effort was deliberately provocative, part of bid to erase traces of pre-Muslim era heritage, claims activist-archaeologist; Israeli authorities checking
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
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