A rare chisel was discovered: Was it used by the builders of the Western Wall?

April 22, 2014   

Archaeologists have found a metal chisel, which may have been used by the builders of the Western Wall. According to a report on the website The country, The chisel was discovered by archaeologist Eli Shukron about nine months ago during excavations of the lower foundation of the Western Wall - under the archaeological garden next to Robinson Arch, south of the Western Wall Plaza - in a pile of quarrying waste at the bottom of the Wall.  The chisel is 15 centimeters long and has a mushroom-like shape at its tip, created by repeated hammer blows. Shukron estimates that the builder who dropped the chisel was working on one of the upper piers of the Western Wall at the time. Shukron has been digging in recent years inside a tunnel that runs from the City of David, passes under the walls of the Old City, and ends at the Western Wall. The tunnel is actually a drainage tunnel that was built under a main street during the Second Temple period. At the end of the tunnel, it passes adjacent to the Temple Mount and the lower courses of the Western Wall. The excavation in the tunnel uncovered numerous archaeological finds, including a Roman sword, cooking pots from the time of the Great Revolt, a gold bell that, according to one interpretation, belonged to the High Priest's garment, and a clay seal that was apparently used to confirm the purity of sacrifices in the Temple.  The stones of the Western Wall were brought from distant quarries, but the final chiseling and fitting of the stone to the wall was done on site. Unlike the stones in the lower foundations, which have mostly remained in their natural shape, the stones in the upper, exposed part of the Western Wall are neatly chiseled. It is possible that some of them were chiseled with an exposed chisel.