(JNS) Thousands of tons of debris salvaged from the Temple Mount have yielded ancient seals, pottery and other fragments of Jerusalem’s past—and a research backlog that could take decades to unravel. For the Temple Mount Sifting Project, washing history out of discarded earth has proved only the beginning: Some of its most significant discoveries emerge years later, when researchers recognize what the recovered objects may reveal.
A study of a First Temple-period seal impression that may be connected to an official in the biblical account of King Josiah is expected to appear in the Israel Exploration Journal by the end of 2026, according to Temple Mount Sifting Project co-founder and director Zachi Dvira.
The clay impression, recovered by the project, bears the name “Yeda‘yah (son of) Asayahu.” Researchers have tentatively linked the father’s name to Asaiah, an adviser to King Josiah mentioned in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. The identification remains a possibility, not an established match.
“We just got the peer review correction that...
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