An “archaeological tragedy”—that is how The Jerusalem Post describes the current state of the Temple Mount.

Excavation and construction on the Temple Mount over the past 10 years by the Muslim Waqf led to a bulge—first noticed in 2000—in the southern retaining wall. A Jordanian team was called in to repair it. This has now been completed, leaving an unsightly splotch on the wall. In 2004 another bulge appeared, this time in the eastern wall. The repairs to this bulge are being supervised by a joint Jordanian-Egyptian team. A section of the wall is covered by scaffolding.

Muslim cemeteries are also encroaching along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount near the so-called “straight joint,” effectively Islamicizing this area so as to make it unavailable for archaeological excavation. Read more about this situation and see photos at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/TempleWall.