Ancient seal associated with Jewish rituals found in Jerusalem

Isreal archaeologists have claimed that a rare clay seal found under Jerusalem'sthe ancient city of Jerusalem is probably linked to rituals that took place in Solomon's Temple 2,000 years ago. The coin-sized seal, found near the holy site of the Western Wall, bears two Aramaic words meaning "pure for God."

Archaeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa estimated its dating between the 1st century BC and 70 AD. - the year the Romans put down a Jewish revolt and destroyed the second of the two biblical temples in Jerusalem. This is the first discovery of a described seal from this period of Jerusalem's history. It is a unique artifact used for ritual purposes in the temple, Reich, co-leader of the excavation, explained.

So far, only a few artifacts associated with the temples have been discovered. The area of the temple itself - a place known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Vzneshfor Muslims - is inaccessible to archaeologists because of religious and political divisions. Archaeologists believe the seal was used by temple priests to consecrate an object for ritual purposes - for example, oil or an animal intended for sacrifice. The materials used by the priests had to meet the strictest purification standards specified in the Jewish code called the Mishnah. It also mentions the seals used by pilgrims as tokens.

As Reich says: "This is the first archaeological find dealing with activities inside the Temple Temple Mount - religious activities such as shopping, offering and donating to the Temple. The site where the seal was found lies on a major road cutting through ancient Jerusalem. In close proximity to the Temple complex.

Aren Maeir, a biblical archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University (he did not participate in the excavation), classifies this artifact as very important precisely because it was found so close to the Temple and is similar to an object described in the Mishnah. "It's great when we can link an activity recorded in ancient sources with an archaeological find," he adds.

The seal was found during excavations led by archaeologists from the government-run Israel Antiquities Authority. The excavation is under the auspices of a larger project called the City of David. Archaeologists may be exploring the oldest part of Jerusalem. The City of David project, located in the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, was founded by a Jewish group associated with the settlement movement.It is the most high-priority and politically controversial excavation in the holy land.