Foundation Stone
The Foundation Stone, known in Hebrew as Even ha-Shetiyah (אבן השתייה), is a prominent limestone outcrop located at the heart of the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, measuring approximately 18 meters by 13 meters and featuring a small cave beneath known as the Well of the Souls.[1] In Jewish tradition, it is regarded as the precise location from which God initiated the creation of the world, the site of Abraham's binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah, and the foundation upon which the Holy of Holies of the First and Second Temples stood, with the Ark of the Covenant placed atop it.[2] Islamic tradition identifies the stone as the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven during the Isra and Mi'raj, prompting the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 691 CE by Caliph Abd al-Malik to enshrine it.[3] The stone's centrality to both faiths underscores its role in the historical and ongoing religious contestation over the Temple Mount, a site lacking direct archaeological confirmation of the ancient Temples due to restricted excavations but affirmed by textual traditions across Abrahamic religions.[4]Location and Physical Description
Geographical and Topographical Context
The Foundation Stone is located within the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount (Har haBayit), in the southeastern quadrant of Jerusalem's Old City, at geographical coordinates 31.7780° N, 35.2354° E.[5] This site corresponds to the biblical Mount Moriah, an elongated north-south ridge in the Judean Mountains that rises prominently from the surrounding valleys.[6][7] Topographically, the Temple Mount forms a natural elevated plateau reaching an average height of 740 meters above sea level, with the bedrock at the Foundation Stone measured at 741 meters.[8][6] It emerges as a rocky spur from the junction of the Kidron Valley to the east and the Hinnom Valley to the south, separated westward by the Tyropoeon (Central) Valley, which descends sharply to create a steep escarpment.[9][7] This configuration positions the mount as one of Jerusalem's highest points, overlooking the lower City of David to the south and affording panoramic views across the Judean Hills. The underlying terrain consists of a limestone ridge, characteristic of the region's karstic geology, which has been artificially expanded through massive retaining walls and earthen fills to support the expansive platform visible today.[6] These modifications, primarily from the Herodian period onward, leveled the summit while preserving the natural outcrop of the Foundation Stone as a focal bedrock exposure amid the leveled esplanade.[6] The site's elevation and isolation by deep valleys underscore its strategic and symbolic prominence in the ancient landscape of Jerusalem.[9]Physical Features of the Stone
The Foundation Stone consists of natural limestone bedrock characteristic of the Turonian and Cenomanian formations prevalent in the Jerusalem region, exhibiting horizontal layering typical of the local geology.[10] This outcrop forms an irregular, rough, and pitted surface, reflecting its unhewn, exposed state as part of the Temple Mount's topography.[11] A distinctive feature is a small hole located at the southeastern corner of the stone, which connects to a cavernous space beneath known as the Well of Souls.[1] This aperture measures approximately 0.5 meters in diameter and provides access to the underlying void, though the exact depth and extent of the cavity remain partially obscured due to restricted archaeological access. The stone's elevation above the surrounding platform varies slightly, rising about 1 to 1.5 meters, with its contours shaped by natural erosion and minimal human modification prior to Islamic construction.[12] No artificial carvings or inscriptions mar the stone's surface, preserving its primordial, rugged appearance as a raw geological formation central to the site's sacred landscape.[11]Historical and Archaeological Background
Biblical Foundations and Early Traditions
The biblical associations with the Foundation Stone center on Mount Moriah as the site of pivotal divine-human interactions foundational to Israelite identity. Genesis 22:2 instructs Abraham to proceed to "the land of Moriah" to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on a designated mountain, an episode termed the Akedah that symbolizes covenantal fidelity and divine provision. This location gains further prominence in 2 Samuel 24:18–25, where Gad directs David to purchase and build an altar on Araunah's threshing floor to halt a plague afflicting Jerusalem, with the angel of the Lord halting at that very spot. 2 Chronicles 3:1 explicitly ties these events to Temple construction: Solomon began building "the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared unto David his father, which he prepared in the place that David had appointed, in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite." These texts establish Moriah—and the exposed bedrock later identified as the Foundation Stone—as the epicenter of sacrificial atonement and divine presence, without naming the stone itself.[13] Rabbinic traditions from the tannaitic and amoraic periods amplify the stone's cosmological role, designating it Even ha-Shetiyah (Foundation Stone) as the terrestrial anchor of creation. The Mishnah Yoma 5:2 depicts it as a stone in the Holy of Holies, elevated three fingerbreadths above the floor, upon which the High Priest placed his incense censer during Yom Kippur to preserve the sanctity of the space without fully exposing the pavement. The Babylonian Talmud Yoma 54b elucidates the etymology: "Why was it called shetiyyah? Because from it the world was shotah [founded]," interpreting the stone as the initial point from which God emanated the earth's expanse, akin to a navel or omphalos. This view, echoed in midrashic sources, posits the stone as sealing the abyss (tehom), restraining primordial floodwaters referenced in Genesis 7–8, and serving as the resting place for the Ark of the Covenant in the First Temple, thereby linking Temple rituals to cosmic order.[14][15] These early interpretations, while rooted in biblical topography, represent exegetical expansions rather than direct scriptural assertions, drawing on verses like Job 38:4–7 ("Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?") to envision the stone as creation's bedrock. Such traditions, compiled in texts from the second to fifth centuries CE, underscore the site's pre-Temple holiness, portraying it as the axis mundi where divine foundation intersects human worship, influencing later Jewish liturgy and messianic expectations.Evidence from Ancient Temples and Artifacts
The Temple Mount Sifting Project, conducted from 2004 to 2011, recovered over 500,000 artifacts from debris removed from the Temple Mount, including items datable to the First Temple period (c. 1000–586 BCE) and Second Temple period (c. 516 BCE–70 CE), such as pottery sherds, animal bones from kosher species, and stone weights used in temple commerce.[16] These finds, analyzed through stratigraphic and typological methods, indicate sustained Jewish ritual activity across the platform enclosing the natural limestone outcrop known as the Foundation Stone, with concentrations of purity-related chalk vessels and incense altar fragments aligning with descriptions of sacrificial practices in the temples.[16] Over 1,000 coins from Hasmonean (c. 140–37 BCE) and Herodian (c. 37 BCE–70 CE) rulers, bearing Jewish symbols like anchors and stars, further corroborate economic and administrative ties to the site during temple operations.[16] Herodian-era architectural remnants, including finely dressed ashlars with drafted margins weighing up to 50 tons, form portions of the Temple Mount's retaining walls and attest to the expansive platform constructed by Herod the Great around 20–10 BCE to support the Second Temple complex.[10] These stones, quarried from local limestone beds and fitted without mortar using precise anathyrosis techniques, encircle the central rock outcrop, positioning it at the heart of the sacred precinct as corroborated by Flavius Josephus's measurements of the temple's layout (c. 75 CE).[10] The outcrop's irregular surface, featuring a natural cave and piercings possibly from ancient fixtures, aligns with bedrock exploitation in Iron Age Levantine temples, where prominent knolls served as focal points for altars or inner sanctuaries.[17] Inscribed artifacts provide direct textual links: a Hebrew limestone slab discovered in 1968 near the southern Temple Mount wall reads "To the place of trumpeting," referencing the priestly shofar signals during festivals as described in Mishnah Tamid (c. 200 CE), confirming ritual functions within the enclosure.[18] Similarly, a Greek-inscribed marble balustrade fragment, recovered in 1871 and dated to the late Second Temple period, warns non-Jews against entering the inner courts under penalty of death, matching Josephus's account in Jewish War 5.194 and delineating the sacred core around the central rock.[19] A mikveh (ritual bath) hewn into bedrock beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, dated via associated pottery to the late Second Temple era, further evidences pre-70 CE Jewish purity observances proximate to the Foundation Stone's location.[4] While no artifact explicitly names the outcrop as Even ha-Shetiyah—a term emerging in post-70 CE rabbinic texts—the convergence of these material remains with the rock's centrality in the Herodian platform supports its role as the structural and symbolic foundation for the Holy of Holies, where the Ark resided per biblical tradition (1 Kings 8:8–9).[17] Geological analysis dates the bedrock to the Cenomanian-Turonian stages (c. 95–90 million years ago), a stable limestone formation elevated by tectonic activity, consistent with ancient builders adapting natural features rather than fabricating them.[17] Limited direct excavation on the Mount due to religious sensitivities underscores reliance on sifted debris and peripheral digs, yet the artifact assemblage refutes claims of non-Jewish primacy, privileging empirical stratigraphic data over narrative reinterpretations.[16]Post-Biblical Developments to Roman Destruction
Following the completion of the Second Temple around 516 BCE under Zerubbabel's oversight during the Persian period, the Foundation Stone persisted as the immovable bedrock feature within the Holy of Holies, marking the absence of the Ark of the Covenant lost in the Babylonian Exile of 586 BCE. Rabbinic sources preserving Second Temple liturgical practices indicate that the stone, elevated three fingerbreadths above the floor, served as the placement for the high priest's censer during Yom Kippur incense offerings, ensuring the ritual's continuity without the Ark. This adaptation underscored the stone's enduring symbolic and functional centrality amid evolving priestly rites under Persian, Hellenistic, and Hasmonean governance. Hellenistic rule after Alexander the Great's conquest in 332 BCE introduced profane desecrations, culminating in Antiochus IV Epiphanes' altar to Zeus in the Temple in 167 BCE, but the Maccabean Revolt restored purity by 164 BCE without altering the Holy of Holies' core elements. Subsequent Hasmonean expansions in the late 2nd century BCE fortified the site, yet preserved the Foundation Stone's position. Herod the Great's ambitious reconstruction, initiated circa 20 BCE and spanning decades, dramatically enlarged the Temple Mount platform to roughly 144,000 square meters using massive ashlar stones—some exceeding 50 tons—but maintained the inner sanctuary's dimensions and the bedrock's sanctity, completing major phases by 63 CE. Archaeological remnants, including Herodian masonry in the Western Wall retaining courses, confirm the platform's extension around the pre-existing sacred core.[10] Roman oversight from Pompey's entry in 63 BCE intensified tensions, with procurators like Pontius Pilate (26–36 CE) sparking riots over Temple funds, yet no documented interference targeted the Foundation Stone directly. The First Jewish-Roman War erupted in 66 CE, leading to Titus' siege; by August 70 CE, legionaries breached the Antonia Fortress, set fire to the Temple courts, and razed the superstructure, fulfilling prophecies of destruction while leaving the underlying bedrock intact amid the conflagration that melted gold overlays. Josephus records the inner sanctum's exposure during the looting, with survivors noting the stone's survival as a remnant of divine foundation.[20] No pre-70 CE artifacts directly attest the stone, consistent with its concealed, non-portable nature and proscriptive access limited to the high priest annually.Role in Jewish Temple Worship
In the First Temple
In Jewish tradition, the Foundation Stone, known as Even ha-Shtiya, occupied the center of the Holy of Holies in Solomon's First Temple, constructed circa 950 BCE on Mount Moriah.[21] It served as the direct pedestal for the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the Two Tablets of the Law, Aaron's rod, and a pot of manna, thereby anchoring the holiest artifact of Israelite worship at the presumed navel of the world.[22][21] This positioning symbolized the intersection of divine presence and earthly realm, with the Ark's cherubim facing the stone as the site of God's enthronement above.[15] Rabbinic sources describe the Even ha-Shtiya as the primordial stone from which creation emanated, woven by God as the foundational element of the universe, consistent with interpretations of Psalm 87:2 and midrashic expansions on Genesis.[15] Its placement in the Temple's innermost sanctuary underscored its role in containing chaotic primordial forces; tradition holds that it sealed the abyss (Tehom), a subterranean void of waters echoing the pre-creation deep, preventing cataclysmic flooding through a divinely inscribed seal bearing the Ineffable Name.[15] This function aligned with the Temple's broader purpose as a cosmic stabilizer, where sacrificial rites and priestly service maintained order against disorder.[21] The stone's dimensions were modest—three fingerbreadths in height—yet it carried outsized metaphysical weight, reportedly assembled from twelve stones gathered by Jacob at Bethel and fused into unity, linking patriarchal narratives to Solomonic architecture.[21] Upon the Temple's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BCE, the Even ha-Shtiya remained in situ, with the Ark purportedly hidden beneath or nearby, preserving its sanctity amid exile.[22] These accounts derive from tannaitic and midrashic traditions rather than direct biblical attestation, which details the Ark's installation (1 Kings 8:6–9) without specifying the stone, reflecting post-exilic elaboration on the site's enduring holiness.[15]In the Second Temple and Holy of Holies
In the Second Temple, rebuilt in 516 BCE after the Babylonian exile and expanded by Herod the Great around 20 BCE, the Holy of Holies lacked the Ark of the Covenant, which had disappeared following the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586 BCE. Instead, the Foundation Stone, known in Hebrew as Even ha-Shtiya, occupied the central position within this innermost sanctum, protruding approximately three fingerbreadths above the floor.[23][24] This stone marked the precise location where the Ark had previously rested and served as the focal point for the High Priest's rituals.[25] The primary role of the Foundation Stone in Second Temple worship centered on the Yom Kippur service, the only occasion when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. According to the Mishnah, during his first entry, he placed a censer filled with burning coals and incense upon the stone to create a smoke screen obscuring the Divine Presence, as prescribed in Leviticus 16:12-13.[23] In subsequent entries, he sprinkled the blood of the bull and goat offerings once upward and seven times downward toward the stone, adapting the biblical procedure for the absent Ark by directing the ritual acts at this foundation element.[26] These actions symbolized atonement for the sanctuary and the people, maintaining continuity with First Temple practices despite the absence of the Ark.[27] Rabbinic sources, drawing from Temple-era testimonies preserved in the Talmud (Yoma 53b-54b), describe the stone as the earthly foundation from which the world was created, underscoring its sacral significance, though its practical function remained tied to these annual expiatory rites. No other daily or festival worship directly involved the Holy of Holies or the stone, as access was strictly prohibited except for Yom Kippur, emphasizing its role in preserving the Temple's sanctity amid post-exilic adaptations.[28][25]Commemoration in Rabbinic Literature and Halakha
In rabbinic literature, the Even ha-Shtiya (Foundation Stone) is depicted as a primordial element integral to both creation and Temple ritual. The Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 54b) records that Rabbi Yitzchak Nafcha taught: "The Holy One, Blessed be He, cast a stone into the sea, from which the world was created," interpreting this as the Even ha-Shtiya serving as the foundational point of cosmic origination, akin to the "navel of the earth" from which terrestrial expansion proceeded. This motif echoes earlier tannaitic understandings, where the stone symbolizes the substrate from which the world was "woven" or founded, as preserved in midrashic expansions like Midrash Tanchuma (Pekudei 2), linking it to the site's primordial sanctity predating the Tabernacle.[29] The stone's role in Temple worship is detailed in the Mishnah (Yoma 5:2), which states that following the First Temple's destruction and the Ark's disappearance, the High Priest stood upon the Even ha-Shtiya—a protruding stone slab—while reciting confessions and sprinkling sacrificial blood in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, thereby maintaining ritual continuity without the Ark's presence. The Talmud (Yoma 53b) confirms its location at the precise center of the Holy of Holies, underscoring its fixed position beneath the Ark in prior eras, with the stone covering the cavity where the Ark once rested. Midrashic texts amplify this, associating the stone with key biblical events, such as the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah, positioning it as the earthly terminus of divine covenants.[30] In halakhic contexts, the Even ha-Shtiya informs regulations for Temple service and its hypothetical restoration. Codifications like Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (Laws of the Temple 4:1) reference its placement for precise altar and sanctuary alignments, emphasizing that future rituals, including Yom Kippur atonement, would require the High Priest to approach it directly for efficacy, as derived from Second Temple practices. Rabbinic deliberations, such as in the Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma 8:3), extend symbolic observance post-destruction, prohibiting certain labors near the site's analog in mourning periods to evoke the stone's sanctity, though direct physical access remains restricted under contemporary halakhic caution against ritual impurity.[29] These traditions preserve the stone not merely as artifact but as a halakhic anchor for eschatological Temple rebuilding, where its identification ensures compliance with Torah-mandated spatial and sacrificial precision.Islamic Appropriation and Structures
Construction of the Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock was commissioned by Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and constructed between 685 and 691 CE on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, directly enclosing the Foundation Stone, a natural limestone outcrop central to the site's sacred significance.[31][32] The structure's octagonal design features an outer wall, inner ambulatories circling the rock, and a central colonnade comprising four piers and twelve columns that support a rounded drum bearing the large wooden dome, measuring over 20 meters in diameter.[31][32]
Construction was supervised by engineers Raja ibn Haywah, a theologian from Beisan, and Yazid ibn Salam, a Jerusalem native, utilizing stone masonry for the walls and piers.[32] Original interior finishes included marble revetments on lower walls and glass mosaic decorations on upper surfaces, with grilled windows in the drum and exterior providing natural illumination.[31] The Foundation Stone lies beneath the dome's center, surrounded by the ambulatories and accessible via a small sub-chamber, integrating the rock as the focal point of the architecture.[31]
Kufic-script inscriptions encircling the interior, totaling approximately 240 meters in length, date the completion to 72 AH (691–692 CE) and feature Qur'anic verses, the shahada, and references to biblical figures, serving as primary epigraphic evidence for the building's timeline and Umayyad patronage.[31][32] These elements mark the Dome of the Rock as the earliest archaeologically attested monumental Islamic structure, predating widespread adoption of dome-on-octagon designs in later architecture.[32]