Archaeologists Find Ancient Chisel that May Have Helped Build Kotel

Archaeologists have discovered a treasure of Second Temple-era objects, including a chisel that may have been used to build the Western Wall, but officials at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) are not officially confirming anything until conclusive studies are completed.

IAA archaeologist Eli Shukrun told Haaretz that he discovered the 2,000-year-old chisel last summer during digging in a tunnel at the lower base of the Western Wall, popularly known by the Hebrew word “Kotel,” which was the western outer wall of the courtyard of the destroyed Second Temple. The Kotel was not a wall of the Holy Temple itself.

Shukrun also told the newspaper that he found a golden bell that may have been used by the High Priest, but the IAA reported the same discovery three years ago, and it is not clear if the archaeologist has found  an additional bell along with the chisel.

The Torah states in Exodus, Chapter 28 Verse 3, “"A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all around.”

Shukrun and Prof. Ronny Reich, who have been digging in Temple Mount area for 19 years, also found a Roman sword and a ceramic seal that probably was used as a stamp of approval for sacrifices brought on the Holy Temple.