WWN 1975 (No 16) Aug 04 - Herbert W. Armstrong Library and ...

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Temple Mount
This history of the Temple
Moun' dig was compi~d from ar·
licles in tht Plain Truth. The
Worldwide News. OIM,. Church
publications and the writu' sown
exptrienct as a digger in 1974.
The writu will M a senior this fall
Ql Ambassador. Big Sandy, and is
lhe WN's jeature wriler.
By James Wort .....
Since 1969 a total of 412 Ambassador
College students ha\'e participated
in the Temple Mount excavations,
cosponsored by Ambassador
College and Hebrew University each
summer in Jerusalem .
Hebrew University began the excavations
in J 968 under the direction
of Binyamin Mazar, past university
president and present professor of archaeology.
The Israelis began the excavations
to understand the history of Jerusalem,
according to Professor Mazar.
In February of 1968 excavating
began at the southwest comer of the
Temple Mount.
In 1968 Ernest Martin . then dean
of faculty at the Bricket Wood campus
of Ambassador. suggested to
Herbert W. Armstrong that Ambassador
become involved in one of the
archaeological projects in Israel.
with the hope that the involvement
would open future doors to preach
tM Gospel in the Middle East.
Ray Dick. manager of the Work's
office in Jerusalem at the time. mentioned
that an excavation at Mt.
Gerizim. north of Jerusalem near
Nablus. might be acceptable to the
Israelis.
Dr. Manin and Dr. Hennan Hoeh,
then dean of faculty in Pasadena .
flew to Israel in September of that
year to check o n a possible archaeological
site. Mr. Dick set up a
meeting fo r them with Professor Mazar.
During that interview Professol
Mazar suggested that Ambassador
participate in the more imponaRt excavations
at the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem.
That November Mr. Annstrong
went to Jerusalem to meet Dr. Mazar.
1t was then that plans for Ambassador
to participate in the excava·
tions with Hebrew University were
made .
Spreading Excavations
Since Ambassador began shating
in the project in 1969. the excavations
have spread along the southern
and western wall s of the Temple
Mo unt. The excavatio ns. which in
the seven yean; of Ambassador' s participation
have already lasted longer
than most such ventures. have un ­
covered remains from 1000 S .c. to
JERUSALEM - 01 the 11
weeks the students spent in
Jerusalem this summer, five
were spent digging at the
Temple Mount, live taking
classes and one week at a
kibbutz. Counterclockwise,
from top left: Christopher Patton,
director 01 the Jerusalem
ollice, describes a site to the
diggers on a bus tour In northern
Israel; this Arab is the
gatekeeper at the dig sne and
washes pottery found by the
diggers for Hebrew University;
Jacque Harvey, Big Sandy junior,
is sprayed in a water fight;
the students WO"' in a cotton
field at Kibbutz Gevat; Edith
Platau, an Israeli Church
member, lilts a rock out 01 an
excavation hole. The three
photos at right show pottery
shards found near the southern
wall 01 the Temple Mount
and students at WO"' wnh t~
western wall In the background.
[Photos by Scott
Moss)