Israel Antiquities Authority Scientific Archive

RAISE THE ROOFBEAMS. After being severely damaged by earthquakes in 1927 and 1937, Al-Aqsa was largely dismantled and the ancient wooden beams were removed from the mosque. Examination of the Cedar of Lebanon and cypress beams by R.W. Hamilton, the director of the British Mandatory Department of Antiquities, revealed that many showed signs of secondary use, and must have been used in an earlier structure as well.