Layers of History

They begin their day at 7 a.m., when they descend several stories into the ground and millennia back in time. At 3 p.m. they emerge, blinking, into the bright sunlight of the 21st century.

For years now, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Archaeological Excavation team has been carefully unearthing history beneath the Western Wall Plaza. They’ve discovered structures from the Middle Ages, artifacts from the Second Temple era, even some traces of life from the times of the Biblical prophets. As they gently remove layer under layer of ancient construction, they reveal entire worlds, silent witnesses waiting patiently to share their testimony.

“As a kid, I was always interested in history,” says Dr. Barak Monnickendam-Givon, the chief archaeologist and co-director of the excavation team. “During my academic studies I worked on the ancient site of Dor, one of the Northern capitals of Shlomo Hamelech’s kingdom, and off the coasts of Northern Israel. Now I spend my days at the Kotel.” Talk about prime location.

“Our team has a simple goal,” Barak says. “We want to uncover the glorious history of this city and share it with the world. We want to show how people lived. We want to capture the rhythm of their lives — how they cooked, conducted business, kept the rigorous halachos of ritual purity.” That story is slowly coming together, just beneath the public eye.