Glass Tesserae from the Exterior Wall of the Dome of the Rock (7th Century CE.)

Close-ups of parts of the mosaic featured on the inner walls of the Dome of the Rock.

A myriad of mosaic tesserae have been recovered by the project. While the stone tesserae cubes were used for mosaic floors, some pictured above are glass mosaic tesserae, cast and cut in many colors, including large quantities of gilded tesserae. These pieces, along with mother of pearl inlays, form intricate wall mosaics which cover many wall sections of the Dome of the Rock, the Dome of the Chain and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The mosaics from the outer walls of the Dome of the Rock were replaced by glazed ceramic tiles during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, in the 16th century. The dislodged tesserae cubes were buried in the olive grove in the eastern section of the Temple Mount. The dirt that was removed from the Temple Mount during the years 1999-2000 originate from that area and this is why so many glass tesserae cubes were recovered in the sifting.