Israel Exploration Society

SO MUCH LIKE SOLOMON’S. The Nea Church commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built on the Cardo in Jerusalem was styled to rival Solomon’s Temple. Perhaps built to house the returned Temple treasures, including the Menorah, the Nea Church was excavated by renowned Hebrew University Professor Nahman Avigad, pictured (on the right) listening to excavation staff member Shlomo Margalit discuss a tabula ansata Greek inscription at the site in 1977.