israeli archaeologists have found an ancient seal, which provides unique evidence of Jewish activity on the Temple Mount during the Second Temple era.
The seal, dating back to the first century CE or the late Second Temple period, was discovered at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in the soil layer above the Herodian road, which was the main road of Jerusalem at that time.
Clay seal of the Second Temple era (Vladimir Naykhin)
This intriguing seal is a tiny object of fired clay measuring about 2 cm in diameter and stamped with an Aramaic inscription meaning “Pure for God”.
It was probably used as a voucher, certifying the ritual purity of an object or food in the Temple Mount compound and in the Second Temple.
Archaeologists Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Prof. Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa explained the significance of the seal during a special press conference held on Sunday by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“It seems that the inscribed object was used to mark products or objects that were brought to the Temple, and it was imperative they be ritually pure. This stamped impression is probably the kind referred to in the Mishnah (Tractate Shekalim 5: 1-5) as a “חותם” (seal),” said archaeologists.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such an object or anything similar to it was discovered in an archaeological excavation and it constitutes direct archaeological evidence of the activity on the Temple Mount and the workings of the Temple during the Second Temple period.”
“Tractate Shekalim tells about the administration procedures on the Temple Mount in which our object was used: whoever required libations would go to Yohanan who was in charge of the stamps give him [the appropriate amount of] money and would receive a stamp from him in return. He would then go to Ahiyah who was in charge over the libations, give him the stamp and receive the libations from him. There can be no doubt that this is a very exciting find.”
“The Mishnah also mentions in Tractate Shekalim: there were four tokens in the Temple and on them were inscribed; calf, ram, kid and sinner [which were issued as a receipt to those who deposited the appropriate funds].”
“Our object does not belong to this group. It shows that not all of the details concerning the administration procedures of the Temple Mount have come to us by way of the rabbinic literature. Here an artifact from an archaeological excavation supplements our knowledge with a previously unknown detail,” concluded archaeologists.
In addition to the newly found seal, other artifacts dating to the Second Temple period were discovered at the same site. Some are even earlier and date to the time of the Hasmoneans, such as oil lamps, ceramic cooking pots and a fusiform juglet, that may have contained oils and perfume, as well as coins of the Hasmonean kings such as Alexander Jannaeus and John Hyrcanus.
Other artifacts discovered at the site (Vladimir Naykhin)
