Second Temple Period Vessel Production Facility Discovered In Yerushalayim

A large stone vessel production facility from the Second Temple Period was found in Jerusalem during the arrest of antiquities thieves.

A large stone vessel workshop was uncovered on the eastern slopes of Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem, which produced vessels for Jews some 2,000 years ago during the Second Temple Period. The discovery was made during the arrest of a gang of antiquities thieves by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit.

Fresh excavation marks at the Ras Tamim antiquities site raised suspicions, and following covert surveillance and an ambush, five suspects were arrested late at night while in possession of excavation equipment, including a generator, excavating tools, and a metal detector. They are expected to be indicted for illegal excavation and damage to an antiquities site.

Inside the underground cave where the workshop operated, hundreds of stone fragments, production waste, and unfinished items were discovered.

“The discovery of this workshop, alongside huge water reservoirs and a purification bath (mikveh) from the Second Temple Period, testifies to the centrality of this site some 2,000 years ago, as it was located on the main road that Jewish pilgrims used when coming to Jerusalem from the east,” said the researchers.

The production and use of stone vessels were unique to the Jewish population during the Second Temple Period, reflecting widespread observance of purity laws at the time.

The stone vessels from the workshop are now on public display in the new exhibition, “Criminal Past,” at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem. The exhibition reveals the world of antiquities looting in Israel and the ongoing struggle against it.