The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by Leen Ritmeyer

The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Reviews

• 
  Paul

  A passionate life's work presented in one lavishly illustrated (and pricey) volume.
  
  I really enjoyed reading The Quest. I have a keen interest in the Jerusalem Temple, and this book caters perfectly to that interest. Leen Ritmeyer, an "archaeological architect," has studied the Temple Mount of Jerusalem closely and carefully for decades, participating in digs, taking measurements, making architectural drawings. He is deeply versed in all the literature on the Temple Mount through history, and has given the subject long, careful, and well-reasoned thought. With all of this he has developed a strong, coherent theory for the exact dimensions, placement, and arrangement of the Jerusalem Temple.
  
  The evidence and lines of argument he puts together are all very reasonable and persuasive. He concludes that the traditional view, which holds that the Sakhra or "Foundation Stone" that is enshrined in the current Dome of the Rock is the site of the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple, is correct. Ritmeyer finds that all the lines of evidence point to the conclusion that the original Temple of Solomon, its successor raised after the Babylonian exile, and the final Temple of Herod were all sited here.
  
  The lines of evidence are many, and the author shows how they can be fit together into a seamless theory when the placement and dimensions of the various features are got just right. One of the best parts of the book is the many drawings and diagrams made by the author himself. Every single page of the book has at least one illustration, and many have more than one. So reading the book is a visual journey as well as an intellectual one, and the images help to speed one through the text.
  
  Lately I myself have been attracted to the "southern" theory for the placement of the Temple: a theory that places the Temple toward the southern end of the Temple Mount, rather than in the north-central part where the Dome of the Rock now stands. I'm no expert, but I have been persuaded by the argument about water: apparently, at the time when the Temple was built, the aqueduct that fed the Temple Mount arrived at the point now known as Wilson's Arch, a point several meters below the height of the Foundation Stone and its environs at the top of Mount Moriah. The aqueduct that served the Upper City and arrived at a point higher than Mount Moriah was not built until the time of Pontius Pilate. The ritual baths used by the priests would likely need to have been filled with "living" or flowing water rather than water drawn from cisterns. Not only that, but apparently the Temple court was flushed each evening with an abundance of water flowing under pressure: that is, from an aqueduct.
  
  Leen Ritmeyer does not really address the aqueduct issue in this otherwise very detailed book, so I would love to hear his views on this. He does discuss the known cisterns which exist on the Temple Mount, and shows how they plausibly support his location of the Temple. If it were not for this nagging question in my mind, I would say that his theory appears to be a slam-dunk. And maybe it is a slam-dunk--I'm just ignorant on this point.
  
  But I would say that if you have a strong interest in the Jerusalem Temple, then you either already have a copy of this book, or you should certainly get it.
• 
  Jimmy Reagan

  This book is without doubt the preeminent resource on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem available today. Whether you desire the historical or archaeological perspective, this is your book. This book’s success likely springs from the fact that no one but Leen Ritmeyer could have authored it. Both from his long years of working in this field and his work as the architect of the Temple Mount excavations, as well as his other work on the Temple Mount itself, demands that Ritmeyer produce this extraordinary resource.
  
  This book is filled with pictures from the earliest scholarly explorations of Jerusalem, other helpful pictures on a range of issues, extraordinary reconstructions, and the wonderful, accurate Carta maps. It’s hard for me to effectively portray the visual treat the reader will have in this book. The text is the equal of the visuals and gives the most up-to-date, scholarly, detailed information that can be found on the Temple Mount.
  
  The book begins covering the Herodian Temple Mount walls. Since archaeology digs down into older time periods, chapter 2 provides a lengthy chapter on the Temple of Nehemiah’s day. Some of the reconstruction models in that chapter were extraordinary. After a chapter on the Hasmonean Temple Mount, he turns to the interesting subject of the underground cisterns of the Temple Mount. I’ve never seen better on that subject. Chapter 5 examines how Herod extended the Temple Mount. That includes things like how he had to expand the drainage system and some of the gates he added. Chapter 6 nails down the location of the Temple on the Mount and has some great pictures of the inside of the Dome of the Rock.
  
  In chapter 7 we find a reconstruction of the First Temple. Again, the graphics and reconstructions were eye-catching and instructive. In chapter 8 we follow that up with reconstructing the Second Temple and all the history behind it. The book goes full-circle with chapters on reconstructing the Herodian Temple Mount as well as Herod’s Temple itself.
  
  Readers are going to love this book. I can’t imagine anyone finding something they thought was left out on the subject of the Temple Mount and its history. Helpful, beautiful, and thorough – what more could you ask for? I give this book the highest possible recommendation.
  
  I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
• 
  Stephen Cranney

  Probably the most detailed book on Temple Mount location and archaeology issues.
• 
  Charity U

  Definitely a book worth reading if you have any interest in the archaeology of Temple Mount! I greatly enjoyed the detail that Leen Ritmeyer went into in this volume. It is a comprehensive overview, concentrating particularly on the Second Temple Period. A must read for anyone studying the archaeology of Jerusalem.