In February 2013, a salvage excavation was conducted in a shop on el-Halidiya Street in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem (Permit No. A-6726; map ref. 222162/631683), prior to enlargement of the structure. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and financed by Mr. Ahmed Razak, was directed by Y. Zelinger, with the assistance of N. Sapir (Old City antiquities inspector), A. Peretz (field photography), V. Essman and Y. Shmidov (surveying and drafting) and R. Kool (numismatics).
A trial square (1.8 × 2.0 m) was opened alongside the ancient wall, opposite the church’s main apse. First, soil mixed with modern refuse (depth 0.2 m) was removed, revealing a modern concrete floor. After removing the floor, soil fill (depth c. 0.3 m) was excavated in order to reveal the ancient wall’s foundation trench. While the excavation was being carried out, modern plaster was removed from the ancient wall, revealing the original Crusader construction (Fig. 3). The wall’s stones were square and roughly hewn (0.5 × 0.6–0.7 m). Eleven coins were discovered in the fill that abutted the wall; five of them could be identified (Table 1).
Table 1. Coins
Locus/Basket
|
IAA No.
|
Dates (CE)
|
Ruler
|
Mint
|
601/6002
|
139679
|
1198–1218
|
Ayyubid: Al-Adil Sayf al-Din Abu-Bakr
|
Damascus
|
601/6007
|
139680
|
1500–1599
|
Ottoman
|
Syrian(?)
|
601/6008
|
139681
|
1500–1599
|
Ottoman
|
Syrian(?)
|
601/6009
|
139682
|
1500–1599
|
Ottoman
|
Syrian(?)
|
601/6012
|
139683
|
383
|
Late Roman
|
|
Due to time constraints, the excavation was unable to reach the wall’s foundation. It was therefore impossible to glean any new information regarding the date of the church’s construction.