Customer Reviews

Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount

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The Ritmeyers have combined a flawless methodology with clear, cogent presentation in this careful, systematic analysis of physical evidence and historical testimony concerning the Temple Mount, the Solomonic and Herodian Temples, and even the proposed location of the Holy of Holies. Although they are honest and straightforward in presenting their own conclusions, the reader is left to his/her own evaluation of the sparse but compelling testimony of key physical landmarks and architectural structures on and around the Temple Mount. A must read for that rare breed of "new archeologists" who are willing to abandon rehashed scholarly tradition in preference for revisiting the oldest, best, and most reliable forensic evidence.

Initially I was a little disappointed in this booklet because I thought that the "secrets" that it portended to reveal would pertain to how Muslims explain how they have an inalienable, perpetual political and religious "claim" to the Temple Mount (as that was the issue I was researching). Instead, this book is Ritmeyer's archeological analysis of the construction and remodelings of the Temple Mount. From that perspective, this short, small paperback booklet is a very informative analysis as to the various peoples who worked in developing the Temple Mount over several centuries (Jews, Romans, Muslims, Seleucids, Turks). There are numerous photographs that are very helpful in noting the various construction differences, and location maps showing how the Temple Mount and the Muslim Platform were laid out, and nice 3D drawings depicting how the Jewish Temples might have looked -- based upon the stone foundations. Also of interest is some detailing as to how the buildings were constructed; how different stones were used during different periods. Some nice history is presented by explaining the excavations occuring during the 1880s. Ritmeyer's analysis is great, but his claiming that he can show where the "Ark" itself rested does require more "faith" than what he provides as "proof." Only 116 paperback pages of text, but each one is very informative, from an archeologist's perspective.

Ritmeyers prepare a good study and start from the outside rather than the inside and show using maps and charts how the temple mount used to look compared with the appearance of the temple mount today. Facinating read ending up with locating the Holy of Holies.

The Ritmeyers present an excellent essay on the buried secrets of such a reveared place. A quick read for even the layman, and a must before a trip to the Temple Mount.

Whoever wants to have a better understanding of the Templemount in Jerusalem has a great book here. Prof. Ritmeyer worked with the late Prof. Benjamin at the Ophel- (Temple-Mount) Excavtion. His study gave a total new understanding of the old stones which astonish every visitor standing at the Wailing Wall or standing below the Al Aksa Mosque. Prof. Ritmeyer let the Temple in the time of Jesus get to a new life and that is wonderful. You see the glory of the ancient times and the stones get start speaking!

Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount is simply excellent. The author has interesting, factual narrative; but most importantly he has the best in pictures and superb color drawings. A definite must have for those interested in Jerusalem.

This book is absolutely amazing.
I have no problem with the assertion that Herod's workers could have carved a 600 ton rock to an accuracy of 1 millimeter at every point of its thousands of square feet of area, then moved it several miles over rough terrain and placed it-heavier than three locomotives bound together-100 feet above the ground. What I do have a problem with is the amount of time this would have taken especially when multiplied by the millions of similar gigantic rocks that compose the mount. Why doesn't the author tell us how many oxen it would take to pull this behemoth? How many hours of labor did it take to cut it to perfection? How large did the scaffolding have to be to hold its weight? (Today a bridge strong enough to hold 3 locomotives 100 feet above the ground would cost many millions of dollars and require at least a year to build.) How many man-years did it take for the entire job? Is it possible today to carve such a huge rock with the same accuracy? (I sincerely doubt it.) How did Herod's men do this? Why are we given examples of techniques in moving rocks, yet this carving precision, to my mind, many millions of times more complex is not even mentioned? Why are none of Herod's other construction sites, such as Masada, or even the temple that sits on the mount, constructed in a similar technique? The temple mount is a more impressive construction feat than even the pyramids of Giza, when Egypt, even then, had a population of millions and millions. How could the tiny country of Israel do this?
Why isn't the possibility explored that the foundation that is the temple mount existed even as far back as the time when Solomon built the first temple or even more than a thousand years before when Abraham used this location, Mount Moriah, as the place for the planned sacrifice of his son as the bible strongly suggests?
This book is amazing for the questions that it does not address.