Ruins of 7th century Arab palace identified in Israel
AFP
JERUSALEM- Ruins in northern Israel previously thought to have been a synagogue have now been identified as a 7th century palace used by the Umayyad caliph who started construction of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, archaeologists said on Tuesday.
The site on the shores of the Sea of Galilee is that of the Al-Sinnabra palace, which was described by early Arab historians but whose precise location had long been unknown, according to Tel Aviv University, whose Institute of Archaeology led the recent excavations.
An archaeologist cleans the stone engraved with a seven-branched Menorah (candelabrum)
The latest excavations and research by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem confirmed the site was that of the palace where the Umayyad rulers would spend the winter months.
Among the caliphs who used the palace was Abd al-Malik, who initiated construction of the Dome of the Rock at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound which is Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
The Umayyads were an early Arab Muslim dynasty that ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa from 661 to 750 AD.
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