The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation is an archaeological project begun in 2005 dedicated to recovering archaeological artifacts from 300 truckloads of topsoil removed from the Temple Mount

Temple Mount

The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...

 by the waqf

Jerusalem Islamic Waqf

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf is an Islamic trust best known for controlling and managing the current Islamic edifices on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Waqf has governed access to the geographic region since the Muslim reconquest of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187...

during the construction of the underground el-Marwani Mosque

Solomon's Stables

Solomon's Stables or Marwani Mosque is an underground mosque some 600 square yards beneath al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...

 from 1996-1999. The project is sponsored by Bar Ilan University with funding by the Ir David Foundation

Ir David Foundation

Ir David Foundation or the Elad Association is an Jerusalem-based, Israeli association which aims to strengthen the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and renew the Jewish community in the City of David, which is part of the village of Silwan...

.

The construction of the mosque, 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) and 36 feet (11 m) deep, entailed excavating layers of earth that are believed to have been undisturbed since antiquity.
The project entailed the use of heavy earthmoving equipment. The debris was dumped in the Kidron Valley

Kidron Valley

The Kidron Valley is the valley on the eastern side of The Old City of Jerusalem which features significantly in the Bible...

 to the east of the Temple Mount."
Under the supervision of Israeli archaeologists Gabriel Barkay

Gabriel Barkay

Gabriel Barkay is an Israeli archaeologist. Born in 1944 in Hungary, he immigrated to Israel in 1950. He received his PhD in Archaeology from Tel Aviv University in 1985. His dissertation was about LMLK seal impressions on jar handles. He participated in the Lachish excavations with David Ussishkin...

 and Zachi Zweig

Zachi Zweig

Zachi Zweig is an Israeli archaeologist who is noted for having been the first person to recognize the archaeological importance of the debris that was removed from Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and initated a project for systematic sifting of it....

 of Bar Ilan University, all 300 loads of topsoil removed by the Waqf are being sifted in search of artifacts.

Dore Gold

Dore Gold

Dore Gold is an Israeli statesman who has served in various diplomatic positions under several Israeli governments. He is the current President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs...

 has called the removal of archaeological material from the Temple Mount without archaeological supervision by the waqf a physical form of Denial of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The topsoil is being sorted at a site in the Emek Tzurim National Park

Emek Tzurim National Park

Emek Tzurim National Park is a national park of Israel. It is located on lower slope of the Mount of Olives and the upper reaches of the Kidron Valley, to the north-east outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The grounds contain the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, and cover...

, at the foot of Mt. Scopus. Hundreds of artifacts have been found, including coins and jewelry, some with biblical links dating back more than three millennia. The workers use a technique called "wet sifting," similar to panning for gold. Every particle is examined, using wire filters that are rinsed under water.

Significant finds

• 10,000 year old flint tools
• First Temple period bulla
  Bulla (seal)
  Bulla , is a type of seal impression. It comes in two forms: metal and clay.- Clay bullae :The original bulla was a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal...
  
  —a piece of hardened clay with a seal impression upon it, c. 2,600 years old. The inscription bears part of official's name, Gedalyahu son of Immer.
• An iron arrowhead with a shaft used by the Tenth Roman Legion during the siege of the Second Temple
• Scores of coins, many of them Jewish and minted by the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasty, others Byzantine. More recent coins date from the 17th century
• A bronze pendant several hundred years old depicting the Holy Grail
  Holy Grail
  The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
  
  .