Another Temple?

About a year and a half ago, I started reading about another temple unearthed near Jerusalem in Motza, while working to expand the highway system leading in and out of Jerusalem.

I was intrigued by the thought of a temple existing alongside the Temple in Jerusalem, and just a short distance away, only a few kilometers.

It is theorized that there were a number of sanctioned temples throughout Judah that eventually disappeared after the centralization of worship and ritual during the reigns of Hezekiah and later, Josiah.

Nevertheless, this was something I had never heard of or even thought about; the Temple, was simply, THE TEMPLE, without competition. Here we can see another one in close proximity, with no indication that this was a discount temple, or wholesale temple, or bargain temple location. It was equipped for all of the normal cultic observances found just down the road.

It was something I really wanted to see.

So, I got up early in the morning and began my trek down toward Jerusalem. It involved a series of buses and trains that would eventually take me within a short walk of the Motza excavation. The train to Tel Aviv was slightly delayed, but I had plenty of time to catch the bus to the Chemed junction. Unfortunately, my timing was off and had to wait over an hour and a half to get from the Chemed junction to Motza, a distance of a couple of miles.

Once in Motza it was an interesting route that I needed to take, walking under a highway overpass, through a construction zone, down a dirt path, to an unmarked series of pits, that were cordoned off with wire fencing. There were no placards identifying what I was peering at, no one around to answer questions, nothing but brush and dirt.

Here’s what I found.

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All of these discoveries found under this.

The discoveries made by chance, from penicillin to Post-it notes, and ancient temples found under highway interchanges continue to amaze me. More seems to come from our accidental discoveries than from carefully considered plans.

From Motza, it was on to Jerusalem for me.