Ophel Excavation 2026 (Upper Area)
Welcome to the 2026 Ophel Area E excavation—a joint project of Hebrew University and the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology and partners, directed by Hebrew University professor Yosef Garfinkel.
Area E is a new excavation area in the ongoing Ophel excavations initiated by the late Dr. Eilat Mazar and continued in recent years by Prof. Uzi Leibner and Prof. Orit Peleg-Barkat. It was Dr. Mazar’s dream to excavate Area E. “I’m so anxious to excavate there,” she told our team in 2018. Why was this area so important to Dr. Mazar?
In previous Ophel excavations (2009, 2012, and 2013), Dr. Mazar had uncovered several sensational finds from Jerusalem’s First Temple Period, the time of King Solomon (10th century b.c.e.) through the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c.e. In addition to uncovering extraordinary artifacts, such as the royal seal of King Hezekiah, Dr. Mazar revealed extensive monumental architecture, further attesting to the grandeur of the Judean kingdom. For Dr. Mazar, excavating Area E was the logical (and exciting) next step in further revealing the “monumental royal crescent” of biblical period architecture. Dr. Mazar believed we would discover at least 5 meters (16 feet) of preserved First Temple Period remains, undisturbed even by the Second Temple Period.
We are thrilled to excavate Area E with Professor Garfinkel, Hebrew University, and other important donors to continue the work of Dr. Mazar, our mentor and friend. Follow closely as we excavate this important area. As always, the most recent updates will be at the top.
August 13: Excavating in the Lower Area
Some of the crew was able to excavate in the lower area, working on what is believed to be a Herodian Period water tunnel—what we’re calling Channel A. This channel is interesting because it has a steep incline, dropping relatively sharply over a short distance. We finished off the week sharshereting buckets for 35 minutes (we had a lot of buckets) and packing up the site for the weekend.
August 12: Working Hard
The crew is working quickly, even with the large amount of stones we are having to remove from the fill. As we would find out, the theme of this week would be removing large stones.
August 10: Removing the Fill
Much like yesterday, we continued to work through the modern fill within the area. By the end of the day, we were in a good place to start the next morning by dividing the individual excavation squares and starting proper archaeology.
August 9: Breaking the Surface
After a restful weekend, we were back at the Ophel to continue work in Area E. This area will consist of four excavation squares. Three will be in the upper area—running along the large Ummayad (Muslim Period) wall. The fourth square will be in the lower Area E, which we previously excavated in 2023. Three to four meters below the upper area, the lower area is filled with immediate potential. At the end of the 2023 season, we had possibly reached pre-Herodian Period walls.
In the upper area, we are having to work through an extensive fill layer before reaching proper archaeology. Hopefully one more day of breaking through the fill and then we can set up our squares and begin excavating.
August 6: Prepping the Area
With most of the crew required at the site to finish work in Areas D and D1, we took the opportunity to do some prep work in Area E, setting up shades and removing vegetation and trash. This will allow us to jump right in on Sunday, removing the fill layer and beginning excavation.
