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It is maintained that the Arabs have had a claim on it for 5,000 years, and that there was never a
Jewish temple on that area. The Israeli Antiquities Authority, and most Israeli archaeologists
agree that this traditional location was the site of the Temple. In 1967, even though Israel
captured East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, a month later, as a gesture of peace and
cooperation, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan returned control of the Temple Mount back
to the Wakf (Islamic authority). It was later reported that he had an underlying fear that the
ground would be razed to make way for the rebuilding of the Temple.
Only the tip of the huge rock, on the summit of Mt. Moriah, juts up into the center of the
Dome of the Rock. It is unclear whether the rock was the sacrificial altar, or the Holy of Holies
where the Ark was placed, but the presence of drain holes bored into the surface, which leads to
a cave below the Mosque, may indicate that it was the area of the Temple used for sacrifices. The
purpose of the holes was for the blood from animal sacrifices to runoff into a canal which carried
the fluids out of the complex. This would place the Holy of Holies in an area which slopes
downward, and creates a conflict with archaeological evidence and historical tradition.
There is some support for the idea that the rock was the foundation stone for the Holy of
Holies. The argument for this is based on the assumption that one of the Temple gates, known as
Warren’s Gate (which was beneath the Gate Babel-Mat’hara, and up to 1967 was the location of
an Arab latrine), opened directly in front of the Holy of Holies. In 1867, Charles Warren found
an ancient gate to the Temple Mount, and since then, the entire Western Wall, and a tunnel
running along it, called the Rabbinic Tunnel, was discovered and excavated by 1986; along with
four other entrances, by Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Western Wall Heritage
Foundation. The Western Wall of the Temple, left standing by Rome as a symbol of their
authority, was part of the retaining wall which was erected to support the immense platform
which held the Temple.
In March, 1979, where excavations were being done at the Western Wall, an unsubstantiated
report was circulated, that a workman, digging with his fingers, 80 feet below the existing floor,
discovered the Arch of King Solomon from the original Temple, which led to the Holy of Holies.
The archway of stone was constructed with a special mortar containing broken glass, as per
God’s instructions. Tests taken of the glistening mortar indicated that it was produced during that
period. They would not break through the Wall, because according to the Law, only a Jew from
the tribe of Levi, and the family of Aaron, can enter the Holy of Holies.
In July, 1981, Rabbi Meir Yehuda Getz, chief rabbi of the Western Wall, while building a
new synagogue behind the Western Wall, investigated water emanating from the Wall, and
discovered a great hall (26’ wide X 98’ high x 82’ long) behind a former cistern which contained
an arch, believed to be one of the entrances to the Temple. It turned out to be the gate discovered
by Warren, which led to the Temple court, and was the closest gate to the Holy of Holies. A
group of ten men, some from the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, began clearing the hall, working their
way toward the Holy of Holies. If the Rock was the foundation stone of the Holy of Holies, then
tradition holds that beneath this stone there is a chamber created by Solomon which was later
used to hide the Ark. Getz believes that this secret chamber contains the Ark, the table, and the
menorah. After breaking down another wall, the Muslim authorities were made aware of what
was going on, and the Arabs instigated a riot which led to the excavation site being shut down. A
wall was placed over the entrance to the tunnel, and was later reinforced with another wall of
steel and plaster, which in 1992 was redone to give it an appearance of natural rock. Rabbi
Schlomo Goren believes that they came within 300 feet of this room, and rumors have circulated
that Getz saw the Ark, which he denied, saying that the area is under water. Getz said: “The