Byzantine Chancel-Screen Fragment (4th-7th Cent. CE)

A fragment of a Byzantine-era marble chancel-screen, decorated with floral motifs. These screens were popular in the mid to late 6^th century CE. Chancel screens were utilized in early Byzantine church architecture to separate the inner sanctuary from the main body of the church. The panels often incorporated Christian symbols, and later on, natural or abstract motifs.

This fragment and others like it, have joined the growing body of evidence that suggest that during the Byzantine Period, the Temple Mount was home to at least some churches or monasteries, and not completely empty, as has been previously assumed.