I have been thinking of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem this week since it has been in the news.

While walking tonight I thought about this small structure on the Temple Mount that has long intrigued me. In Arab tradition this is known as the Dome of Tablets. It is thought that it is to commemorate the Tablets of the Law. Of course the Tablets of the Law were kept in the Ark of the Covenant, so there is also a theory that this is the Foundation Stone which is where the Holy of Holies was.

The Dome of the Tablets stands above exposed bedrock on the Temple Mount and it is just a little lower that es-Sakhra which is under the Dome of the Rock.

It is difficult to see, but looking east the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount is in the background.

The Dome of Tablets is very small in comparison to the Dome of the Rock. In the picture above from Google Maps it is within the blue circle. The Eastern or Golden Gate is circled in red. You can see that they line up with each other.

Here is the view of the Dome of the Rock from just beside the Dome of Tablets.

So, is the Dome of the Tablets where the Temple was built? There are some intriguing arguments, but very few scholars agree with the theory.

I am always open to learning more and reading about alternate ideas, so I will continue to research 🙂

It is always interesting to pick up books written as little as 20 years ago and see how understanding of different historical or archaeological sites change as new information is found.

Steven