Christian Message Boards: Wailing Wall wet spot believed to be plant resin

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Posted by Kindgo (Member # 2) on :

JERUSALEM - The mysterious damp patch that recently materialized on Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall, appears to be only resin from a plant growing in the cracks between the huge stones, an archaeological expert said Monday.

The 10-by-40 centimeter (4-by-16-inch) stain, about halfway up the wall, was spotted at the end of June by Jewish worshippers praying at what is also known as the Wailing Wall. Some Jewish mystics claimed the wall was "weeping" as a sign that redemption was near.

However, Jon Seligman, the Jerusalem regional archaeologist for Israel Antiquities Authority, said a team had inspected the stain Sunday. "It does not seem to be water — it seems to be resin," he said.

Seligman said there was a sticky material dripping from a plant growing between the stones of the wall close to the stain. He said the patch also felt sticky.

A botanist would be brought to the wall later this week to confirm the initial findings, he said.

There was concern the wet patch may have been caused by a leak from inside the compound above the Western Wall. But Seligman ruled that out, saying the size of the spot had not changed since it was first noticed.

"If it was water, it would have either grown or shrunk. It is very strange but I do not think it is miraculous," he said.

An Islamic trust, the Waqf, oversees the interior of the compound, which includes two large mosques and is known as the Haram al-Sharif to Muslims, the third holiest site in Islam.

Jews call the compound the Temple Mount, the site of the two ancient Biblical Temples. The Western Wall is a retaining wall of the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

The compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City is the most contentious religious site in the city and a source of tension between Israelis and Palestinians

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