Building on the Past—Literally! (Part 3 of 3)

The thing about Israel, is that there is SO MUCH HISTORY literally everywhere that it's many-layered and multi-faceted.

I just spent 2 weeks talking about sites specific to the 2nd Temple, which also are the very places that things happened in the time of the 1st Temple.

We know this because in Israel, you build on top of the past. It's very practical... the materials are already there. If the foundation is solid, why not? Now, it's also done in the name of historical preservation. 

This means, if you dug deeper, you'd find remains from the 1st Temple.

But we're actually going to move forward in history now:

I want to say again that I am a student of Israel and have soooooooo much to learn. I'm still learning all the different time periods and things. That's significant, because the rest of the structures in Jerusalem Archeological Park that I want to feature are from the Umayyad Caliphate (638 AD). A palace was actually constructed in the 8th century using the fallen rocks from the Temple Mount walls. Can you imagine? But it's practical- the materials are right there. Work smarter, not harder, and all that.

Then, a Byzantine building was constructed over where the palace had been. The building in the photo is a reconstruction based on their materials and techniques.

Which is why I'm going to end the series with this picture, because it shows this perfectly:

It was early afternoon when I took this, so I know the shadows are severe. But hopefully you can see it, either in the structure or in the sign. Basically, this building here is an example of 3 different time periods built on each other. Can you see the differences in the stone wall directly across from the sign, and how they differ from the one on the side?

I love this stuff! So cool!

What was your favorite part about this series on Jerusalem Archeological Park? Let me know in the comments below!

Old and New

There are so many old buildings in Israel that have been torn down or fallen down, whether from natural disasters like earthquakes, decay over time, or destruction from war.

There's a law in Israel that says the old places can't be torn down. So what they do instead is they continue building with new material where the old building still stand.

The lines in the walls of Masada below clearly show where the original walls of Masada end and the recent additions begin. This way, visitors still get a feel for what it could have been like in their original state, without compromising the integrity of the structure and damaging valuable historical landmarks.

Fun fact- the above room had a mural, and you can still see some of the original colors!

Inside the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where you can clearly see the old and the new:

below - from an early church near where Jesus fed the 5000