Jerusalem stone

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Jerusalem stone (Western Wall, Jerusalem). Jerusalem Western Wall stones.jpg
Jerusalem stone (Western Wall, Jerusalem).

Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic : حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient times. [1] One of these limestones, meleke , has been used in many of the region's most celebrated structures, including the Western Wall.

Contents

Jerusalem stone continues to be used in construction and incorporated in Jewish ceremonial art such as menorahs and seder plates.

Geology

The stone in its natural state. Jerusalem stone in the rough.jpg
The stone in its natural state.
Lithographic limestone from the Gerofit Formation (Turonian) north of Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel; a variety of Jerusalem Stone (meleke). Turonian Jerusalem Stone 031612.JPG
Lithographic limestone from the Gerofit Formation (Turonian) north of Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel; a variety of Jerusalem Stone (meleke).
Jerusalem stone facade of Inbal Jerusalem Hotel in Jerusalem. RNB 0457.jpg
Jerusalem stone facade of Inbal Jerusalem Hotel in Jerusalem.

The highlands of Israel and Palestine are primarily underlain by sedimentary limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone. The stone quarried for building purposes, ranging in color from white to pink, yellow and tawny, is known collectively as Jerusalem stone. Soft Senonian limestone is found to the east of Jerusalem, and has long been used as an inexpensive building material. [2] Stone of the Cenomanian layers, known in Arabic as mizzi ahmar and mizzi yahudi, is far more durable than Senonian limestone, but is very hard and was expensive to quarry using pre-modern methods. [2] Turonian layers yield mizzi hilu or helu and meleke, the most prized building stones. [2] The thin layered mizzi hilu is easily quarried and worked. Meleke is soft and easy to chisel, yet hardens with exposure to the atmosphere and becomes highly durable. [2] It was used for the great public buildings of antiquity, [3] and for the construction of the Western Wall.

Varieties

The mountains in and around Jerusalem offer mainly limestone, dolomite and related types of rock. [4] The names in common use today have been adopted from the Arab masons of the 19th and 20th centuries. The varieties mostly used for building throughout history are:

The setting sun reflected on the cream-colored limestone facade of both ancient and modern structures gives them a golden hue, giving rise to the term "Jerusalem of Gold". [6]

History

According to Israeli geologist Ithamar Perath, residents of Jerusalem in antiquity built their homes from Jerusalem stone quarried in the city and used the pit that remained as a cistern to collect rainwater beneath the home. Ancient quarries around Jerusalem include the site of the bus station in East Jerusalem, Rehov Hamadregot in Nahlaot and the Garden Tomb. [1] The remains of ancient quarries can also be seen near Yemin Moshe, in the Sanhedria neighborhood, and elsewhere. [2]

Municipal laws in Jerusalem require that all buildings be faced with local Jerusalem stone. [7] The ordinance dates back to the British Mandate and the governorship of Sir Ronald Storrs [8] and was part of a master plan for the city drawn up in 1918 by Sir William McLean, then city engineer of Alexandria. [9] Ironically, at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, during the 1947–1949 Palestine war, it was noted that that requirement to use Jerusalem stone in new construction had limited the damage caused by the shelling during the siege. [10]

In 1923, Aharon Grebelsky established the country's first Jewish-owned "marble" quarry in Jerusalem (actually of mizzi stone, since there is no marble in Israel). Grebelsky's son Yechiel expanded the business, employing over 100 workers, including quarriers, stonemasons, fabricators and installers. The company inaugurated a new factory in Mitzpe Ramon in January 2000. [11]

In 2000, there were 650 stone-cutting enterprises run by Palestinians in the West Bank, producing a varied range of pink, sand, golden, and off-white bricks and tiles. [12]

Symbolic use

The various "Jerusalem stones" are employed abroad in Jewish buildings as a symbol of Jewish identity. [13] [14] It has been used this way in many Jewish community centers, including the one in San Jose, Costa Rica. [15] Jerusalem stone is frequently used in contemporary synagogue design, to create a simulation of the Western Wall or as a backdrop for the Holy Ark. [16]

A Pentecostal church in São Paulo, Brazil, ordered $8 million worth of Jerusalem stone to construct a replica of the Temple of Solomon, or Templo de Salomão that stands 180 feet tall. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Wall</span> Holy site of Judaism in Jerusalem

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shephelah</span> Lowland region in south-central Israel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connemara marble</span> National gemstone of Ireland

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References

  1. 1 2 Teitelbaum, Ilana (Oct 19, 2010). "Is Jerusalem Stone Under Threat? - Green Prophet" . Retrieved Nov 18, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Influence of Geological Conditions on the Development of Jerusalem, M. Avnimelech, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 181 (Feb., 1966), pp. 24-31
  3. Shiloh, Yigal; Horowitz, Aharon (February 1975). "Ashlar Quarries of the Iron Age in the Hill Country of Israel Ashlar Quarries of the Iron Age in the Hill Country of Israel". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 217: 37–48.
  4. "Holy Land's 'Jerusalem stone' cements base of U.S. buyers, Denver Business Journal". Denver.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  5. Deutscher Verein Zur Erforschung Palästinas, Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins Band XXVII, Leipzig 1904. London: Forgotten Books. 2013. pp. 361–2. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  6. Arkin, Yaacov and Amos Ecker (2007), “Report GSI/12/2007: Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Concerns in Developing the Infrastructure Around Jerusalem” Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine , The Ministry of National Infrastructures, Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, July 2007.
  7. Goldberger, Paul (September 10, 1995). "Passion Set in Stone, New York Times, Sept. 10, 1995". New York Times . Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  8. "Jerusalem Architecture Since 1948". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  9. The British Mandate Archived 2015-12-16 at the Wayback Machine from "Jerusalem: Life Throughout the Ages in a Holy City". Online course material from the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
  10. Levin, Harry (1950). Jerusalem Embattled: A Diary of the City Under Siege. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. p. 276.
  11. Supplying the world with Jerusalem stone, Stoneworld.com.
  12. Palestinians' stones cut both ways Ilene Prusher, The Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2000
  13. "FindArticles.com - CBSi". Archived from the original on 2008-01-19.
  14. Philip Nobel, "ART/ARCHITECTURE; What Design For a Synagogue Spells Jewish?," December 2, 2001, New York Times .
  15. "Jerusalem Stone forms a haven in Costa Rica, Reflecting the spirit of Israel, a large quantity of Jerusalem Stone was used for a new Jewish Community Center in San Jose, Costa Rica, Stone World, 19 November 2005" . Retrieved Nov 18, 2022.[ permanent dead link ]
  16. "OU Life - Everyday Jewish Living". OU Life. Retrieved Nov 19, 2022.
  17. "Solomon's Temple in Brazil would put Christ the Redeemer in the shade; Huge replica planned for Sâo Paulo would be twice the height of the iconic statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro Tom Phillips, July 21, 2010, The Guardian .

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