Jerusalem's well-known high-tech industrial zone is called Mount Hotzvim, but not everyone knows why.
During excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority, prior to works by the Jerusalem Development Company, ancient evidence of the name was revealed: an ancient giant quarry, possibly from the Second Temple period - about two thousand years ago.
The ancient quarries served as the main source of the building blocks for the huge construction projects that took place in Jerusalem, such as the Temple Mount.
The quarry, which was partially exposed, covers an area of about 600 square meters, but the Israel Antiquities Authority highly estimates that its dimensions are double and triple.
The mighty finds, the Israel Antiquities Authority
The building blocks found in it are particularly large, and are 1.5 by two meters in size.
The quarry clearly shows all the stages of quarrying and stone processing.
Moran Hajabi, who conducted the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, described: "The large building projects of antiquity in Jerusalem, such as the Temple Mount, required a large amount of building materials, and organization and coordination capabilities for quarrying and transporting thousands of building blocks to the Old City.
The bricks on the site, Israel Antiquities Authority
"Thus, large and square blocks of stone were also exposed, just before they were cut off from the bedrock, prior to loading and transporting them to the Old City. For us, the archaeologists, this quarry is a golden opportunity; the fact that some stones were left on the site allows us to learn Antiquities - the process of quarrying the building blocks. "
The archaeologists and conservation experts of the Antiquities Authority intend to try and actually restore the ancient methods, which were used to detach the stone blocks, and even to test the effectiveness of methods known from ancient Scriptures.
This, by using quarrying tools that will be specially designed for the benefit of the experiment, and mimic previously exposed tools.
Not just called "Mount Hotzvim",
Excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in North Jerusalem in previous years revealed many stone quarries, as well as the tools used to detach the stones from their place in the quarry.
These quarries cover a huge area, north of the Old City, and it is a unique phenomenon.
They were used, mainly because of the topography and quality of the rock, as the main source of the building blocks, for the huge construction projects that took place in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period and other periods.
The director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Eli Escozido, noted that "symbolically, the development momentum in Jerusalem today is what allows us to uncover and investigate the great construction works of Jerusalem in ancient times. For the sake of future generations. "