‘Atiqot - Publications of the Israel Antiquities Authority

‘Atiqot 80 (2015) ISBN 2948-040X

Faunal Remains from the 1994–1996 Excavations at the Temple Mount, Jerusalem (pp. 19–34)
Ronny Reich, Ya‘akov Billig, Dalia Hakker-Orion and Omri Lernau
Keywords: archaeozoology, dietary laws, economics, ethnicity
This study focused on the faunal remains (N = 3618) retrieved from three strata unearthed above the Second Temple-period stone-paved road along the southern part of the western wall of the Temple Mount. The three strata date to the Early Roman (first century BCE and first century CE–70 CE; Stratum 4), the Late Roman–Byzantine (second–sixth centuries CE; Stratum 3) and the Early Islamic (seventh–eighth centuries CE; Stratum 2) periods. The faunal remains from the Early Roman period reflect the large amounts of waste created by the various populations in the city, with a predominance of Jewish pilgrims. Following the destruction of the city in 70 CE, the ethnic identity of the population changed, and pagans, related to the Roman army, and later, Christians, inhabited the city. This transition is clearly manifested in the faunal remains, which reflect the dietary and cultic habits of the population. At the outset of the Early Islamic period, the local population changed again, and the transition from Christian to Muslim population is apparent in the faunal evidence.