Temple Complex floor reconstructed

Frankie Snyder, on the left, displaying some of
the 600 tiles recovered from the sifting project
during my visit in 2009.

Frankie Snyder and others at the Temple Mount sifting (salvage) project have successfully reconstructed seven possible tile patterns for the floor in the Herodian Second Temple complex. See NEWS. Frankie Snyder showed me the various tile pieces (opus sectile) in 2009 when I worked on the project. Now she and others have put them together to show what the floor on the Temple mount looked like in the first century. Amazing results. For some amazing photo see LINK

Josephus (1st Century AD), wrote, “…the uncovered [Temple Mount courtyard] was completely paved with stones of various types and colors… (The Jewish War 5:2).

The size of each Herodian tile corresponds to the Roman foot, approximately 29.6 cm.

Similar square tiles with geometric shapes decorate the upper portion of the walls of the Sardis Synagogue.

Demonstration of how the two pieces fit together (2009).
Now Frankie has figured out  the patterns of seven designs
of the majestic flooring that decorated the buildings of the
Temple Mount in the Herodian period (2016).

 

Sardis Synagogue tiles

Close up of Sardis Synagogue geometric tiles.