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Jerusalem stone

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Jerusalem stone (Western Wall,Jerusalem).

Jerusalem stone(Hebrew:אבן ירושלמית‎;Arabic:حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of palelimestone,dolomiteand dolomitic limestone,common in and aroundJerusalemthat 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 theWestern Wall.

Jerusalem stone continues to be used in construction and incorporated inJewish ceremonial artsuch asmenorahsandsederplates.

Geology[edit]

The stone in its natural state.
Lithographic limestonefrom the Gerofit Formation (Turonian) north ofMakhtesh Ramon,southern Israel; a variety of Jerusalem Stone (meleke).
Jerusalem stone facade ofInbal Jerusalem Hotelin Jerusalem.

The highlands of Israel and Palestine are primarily underlain by sedimentarylimestone,dolomiteanddolomitic limestone.The stone quarried for building purposes, ranging in color from white to pink, yellow and tawny, is known collectively as Jerusalem stone. SoftSenonianlimestone is found to the east of Jerusalem, and has long been used as an inexpensive building material.[2]Stone of theCenomanianlayers, known in Arabic asmizzi ahmarandmizzi yahudi,is far more durable than Senonian limestone, but is very hard and was expensive to quarry using pre-modern methods.[2]Turonianlayers yieldmizzi hiluorheluandmeleke,the most prized building stones.[2]The thin layeredmizzi hiluis easily quarried and worked.Melekeis 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 theWestern Wall.

Varieties[edit]

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:

  • Meleke,the "royal" stone, a white, coarse crystalline limestone used for representative buildings like theWestern Walland possibly other parts of theHerodian Temple.It is easy to quarry, but once it is exposed to air it hardens and develops a pleasant yellow hue.
  • Mizzi hilu( "sweet stone" ) is a hard whitish micritic limestone, usually covering beds ofmeleke.It is a high quality building stone, but in times when the "royal stone" was preferred, themizzi hiluwas left as a roof over the cavities created by quarrying themeleke.
  • Mizzi ahmar( "red stone" ), a hard dolomitic limestone, light-colored with reddish bands. In Jerusalem it was used forablaq-style multi-colored masonry by theMamluks.
  • Mizzi yahudi( "Jewish stone" ), a dark grey or yellow crystalline dolomite or dolomitic limestone, appreciated for its hardness which makes it an excellent building material.
  • Deir yassiniis a variety ofmizzinamed after the village ofDeir Yassin.A reddish dolomitic limestone, it is quarried in slabs used for floor and roof tiles.
  • Mizzi akhdaris a decorative green limestone quarried on a smaller scale. Its high density means that it can be finely polished. At the beginning of the 20th century it was five times more expensive than other varieties ofmizzi.[5]
  • Kakulehorkakula,a soft and light chalky limestone found on theMount of Olives.Due to its softness it was favoured during the LateSecond Temple Periodfor carving box-shapedossuariesforsecondary burialsas well as for producing stone vessels, using a procedure similar to thepotter's wheel.These vessels were considered by strictly observant Jews to always be ritually pure.
  • Nariis the other softer type of stone used in the Jerusalem area. It is the whitishcalichecrust which develops through chemical processes on top of chalk ormarl.Light, friable and far from homogeneous, it is not a resilient building material, but these very qualities attracted masons of the earlyKingdom of Judahwho cut it intoashlars.

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[edit]

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 inNahlaotand theGarden Tomb.[1]The remains of ancient quarries can also be seen nearYemin Moshe,in theSanhedrianeighborhood, and elsewhere.[2]

Municipal laws in Jerusalem require that all buildings be faced with local Jerusalem stone.[7]The ordinance dates back to theBritish Mandateand the governorship ofSir Ronald Storrs[8]and was part of a master plan for the city drawn up in 1918 by SirWilliam McLean,then city engineer ofAlexandria.[9]Ironically, at the time of thesiege of Jerusalem,during the1947–1949 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 ofmizzistone, 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 inMitzpe Ramonin January 2000.[11]

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

Symbolic use[edit]

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 inSan 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 theHoly Ark.[16]

APentecostalchurch inSão Paulo,Brazil, ordered $8 million worth of Jerusalem stone to construct areplica of the Temple of Solomon,orTemplo de Salomãothat stands 180 feet tall.[17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abTeitelbaum, Ilana (Oct 19, 2010)."Is Jerusalem Stone Under Threat? - Green Prophet".RetrievedNov 18,2022.
  2. ^abcdeInfluence 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.Retrieved2012-08-28.
  5. ^Deutscher Verein Zur Erforschung Palästinas,Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-VereinsBand XXVII, Leipzig 1904.London: Forgotten Books. 2013. pp. 361–2.Retrieved2014-08-28.
  6. ^Arkin, Yaacov and Amos Ecker (2007),“Report GSI/12/2007: Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Concerns in Developing the Infrastructure Around Jerusalem”Archived2009-03-05 at theWayback 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.Retrieved2012-08-28.
  8. ^"Jerusalem Architecture Since 1948".Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-22.Retrieved2012-08-28.
  9. ^The British MandateArchived2015-12-16 at theWayback Machinefrom "Jerusalem: Life Throughout the Ages in a Holy City". Online course material from theIngeborg 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 waysIlene Prusher,The Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2000
  13. ^"FindArticles.com - CBSi".Archived fromthe originalon 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 ".RetrievedNov 18,2022.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^"OU Life - Everyday Jewish Living".OU Life.RetrievedNov 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 JaneiroTom Phillips, July 21, 2010,The Guardian.

External links[edit]

Media related toMelekeat Wikimedia Commons

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