Zachi Dvira

Who is Zachi Dvira?

Zachi Dvira is an Israeli archaeologist who is noted for having been the first person to recognize the archaeological importance of the debris that was removed from Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and initiated a project for systematic sifting of it.

In 1999 Zweig was a student of archaeology at Bar-Ilan University. Together with a fellow student, Aran Yardeni, he gathered a few friends and began examining the construction rubble dumped by the Islamic Waqf during the Construction of el-Marwani Mosque . Just as they began collecting artifacts, they were stopped by inspectors from the Israeli Antiquities Authority. The students managed to retrieve a few artifacts from the dump and displayed them at a conference about new studies on Jerusalem. Their report was followed by a storm in the conference hall. The Antiquities Authority claimed these students are antiquities robbers, but all the archaeologists in attendance deeply supported them and protested against the archaeological destruction of the Temple Mount.

A few days later Zachi Zweig's house was raided by the Antiquities Authority theft unit, and he was detained by the police and accused of conducting antiquities robbery. Charges were pressed against him, but the court quickly dismissed the charges, and asked the prosecution to set aside their accusations. Prof. Gabriel Barkay, one of Israel’s most senior archaeologists, supported the students’ efforts, joined forces with Zachi Zweig, and together they began working towards the establishment of a project for systematically sifting the debris from the Temple Mount. Since the Temple Mount has never been excavated, the artifacts retrieved from the debris could still provide valuable information, even though they are out of context. Most artifacts can be identified and dated by comparison with artifacts found elsewhere in Israel. In addition, since the material is from the Temple Mount, it was expected that many unique artifacts would be found. They raised funds and spent 5 years getting a license to conduct an archaeological dig. In 2004 they obtained the license and 285 truckloads of rubble were moved to a vacant lot on the slopes of Jerusalem's Mount Scopus, where Zweig directs a dig that sifts and examines every bucketful of dirt and rubble removed form the Temple Mount.