The excavations on the western slopes of Mount Zion yielded a rich and varied selection of chalkstone vessels, typical of Jewish settlements of the late Second Temple period and the period between the Revolts (first century BCE–second century CE). Stone vessels have been discovered in many sites in Herodian-period Jerusalem, and it is commonly accepted that they were produced in adherence to Jewish halakhic constrictions, according to which stone vessels retained their purity.