1967 Jordanian weapons found in archaeological dig by Western Wall
The ammunition stash (known as a “slick”) included ten full magazines of Bern light machinegun, full clip chargers and two bayonets of a British Lee Enfield rifle.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINFindings from archaeological dig near the Western Wall (Credit: Western Wall Heritage Foundation)
A Jordanian ammunition stash dating back to the Six Day War was discovered in an archaeological dig near the Western Wall on Wednesday, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and Israel Antiquities Authority announced.The archaeologists were excavating a British Mandate-period water cistern under the lobby of the Western Wall Tunnels when they came across the material. The ammunition stash (known as a “slick”) included 10 full magazines of Bren light machine guns... and two bayonets of a British Lee Enfield rifle.“This is ammunition that was produced in Britain in the Greenwood and Batley Ltd. factories in Leeds, Yorkshire,” the IAA's Assaf Peretz, who identified the ammunition, said in a press release. “Based on the headstamp on the rim, the ammunition was produced in 1956 and reached the Royal Jordanian Army.”Similar weapons were found a year ago in a nearby water cistern.“Usually, in excavations, we find ancient findings from one or two thousand years ago,” Dr. Barak Monnickendam-Givon and Tehila Sadiel, who head the excavations on behalf of the IAA, said in the press release. “But this time we got a glimpse of the events that occurred 53 years ago, frozen in time in this water cistern.“Apparently, this is an ammunition dump that was purposely hidden by soldiers of the Royal Jordanian Army during the Six Day War, perhaps when the IDF liberated the Old City. The water cistern we excavated served the residential structures of the Moghrabi neighborhood that was built in the area of what is today the Western Wall Plaza.”The site under the lobby of the Western Wall Tunnels has offered very unique findings. At the end of last month, the archaeologists unveiled a subterranean multiple-room complex dating back to the Second Temple period that gave a glimpse of how Jews lived in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. The structure is located at the foot of a prominent public building from the Byzantine period.“Along with other glorious discoveries of our nation’s past from the Second Temple period, we are also happy about discovering findings from the war of this past generation to return the Jewish nation’s heart and be able to cling to the stones of the Western Wall,” the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said. “This discovery is a privilege for us – to be able to acknowledge the miracles of the Creator of the Universe at this site.”