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Temple Mount today still preserves ancient alignment.
posted Sunday, 26 August 2007
South of the temple’s southern wall is the archaeological remains of a staircase leading up to the Double Gate, and a Ritual Bath. Further to the south is the location of the source of the Gahon Spring at the bottom of a staircase under a building. This water runs into ancient tunnels. The water taken from a pool feed from this spring was brought up to the temple by a priest and poured out near the southwest corner of the altar. An open gate, the Water Gate (also a High Priest’s ritual bath was located close to this gate), was the gate used by this priest to reach the altar. If anyone were today to stand on the line of the junction between the staircase and the Ritual bath, and face forward, he would be facing precisely the source of the Gahon Spring. Now if he were to turn and again stand precisely on this line, he would be standing at a perfect right angle to the line of the Herodian Southern wall, and would be facing the exact center of the Herodian Temple Mount where the Dome of the Chain now exists and also be facing the largest cistern on the temple mount– the one fed by aqueduct. He would be facing a spot on the wall exactly halfway between the center line of the Double Gate, and the western edge of the Triple Gate. The previous two sentences contain archeological objects (Source of Gahon Spring, the physical location of the center of temple mount, staircase, Ritual Bath, southern wall (remains of Royal Stoa), aqueduct fed cistern, Double Gate (in southern wall of Royal Stoa), Triple Gate (in same southern wall of Royal Stoa) these being remains existing from the time of Herod’s temple. I believe this alignment is not coincidental, but deliberate. Everything stated in the preceding paragraph concerns this alignment. Even the statement of Isaiah 12:3 when the water was being poured on the altar concerns this cistern (well) as it could be the Wells of Salvation where worshipers used water taken from this well for temple purposes.
I believe the temple’s Water Gate was very close to the location of the Altar. The Talmud does nothing to imply this were not the case. It describes the priest walking through the open gate, then up the altar’s southern ramp, where he turned to the left to reach its southwestern corner. If the priest were to pour out the water on the altar here, he would be in line with the open gate and the source of the water of Gahon.Spring.
This ritual of water drawing and pouring on the altar was not mentioned in the bible. Some priests – the Saducees– objected to this ritual. They only allowed the pouring of blood and wine on the altar. But I believe this alignment of the altar with the gate and the spring did exist and was utilized if water was poured on the altar
If the altar and Water Gate were to be were I have placed it on the Temple Mount, this is very important because it:
1. Helps confirm the temple’s location since if these two locations are known, then other locations can be calculated since all locations are relative to each other.
2. The approximate location of the altar’s western edge can be drawn. We cannot be sure of the exact edge’s location but we can show approximately where it would have been.
Another fact: If my placement of the Court of the Women were to be correct, then if someone would have stood at the same source of the Gahon Spring spot, they would have seen the fire burning from one of the four manorahs on a tall tower appearing directly above the Triple Gate, or have seen the fire through an open window at the top of the Royal Stoa, or at least have been in line with the fire burning in the manorah in the court of the Women north of the Royal Stoa, because another alignment would have existed from this spring through this gate in the wall of the Royal Stoa and this Court of the Woman.
I believe the temple’s Water Gate was very close to the location of the Altar. The Talmud does nothing to imply this were not the case. It describes the priest walking through the open gate, then up the altar’s southern ramp, where he turned to the left to reach its southwestern corner. If the priest were to pour out the water on the altar here, he would be in line with the open gate and the source of the water of Gahon.Spring.
This ritual of water drawing and pouring on the altar was not mentioned in the bible. Some priests – the Saducees– objected to this ritual. They only allowed the pouring of blood and wine on the altar. But I believe this alignment of the altar with the gate and the spring did exist and was utilized if water was poured on the altar
If the altar and Water Gate were to be were I have placed it on the Temple Mount, this is very important because it:
1. Helps confirm the temple’s location since if these two locations are known, then other locations can be calculated since all locations are relative to each other.
2. The approximate location of the altar’s western edge can be drawn. We cannot be sure of the exact edge’s location but we can show approximately where it would have been.
Another fact: If my placement of the Court of the Women were to be correct, then if someone would have stood at the same source of the Gahon Spring spot, they would have seen the fire burning from one of the four manorahs on a tall tower appearing directly above the Triple Gate, or have seen the fire through an open window at the top of the Royal Stoa, or at least have been in line with the fire burning in the manorah in the court of the Women north of the Royal Stoa, because another alignment would have existed from this spring through this gate in the wall of the Royal Stoa and this Court of the Woman.
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