The largest stone quarry ever was just discovered in Jerusalem, believed to have been active during the time Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) was the one that found the quarry, which was in working order before Jesus was born.
"The excavation provides a glimpse into Jerusalem’s past at its zenith, just before the Romans destroyed it in 70 (AD)," says IAA in a statement.
The archaeologists not only discovered perfectly cut stone, but tools people used.
"Most of the building stones extracted from here were huge rock slabs, whose length reached (approximately 8 feet), their width was (4 feet) and they were (16 inches) thick," says Michael Chernin and Lara Shilov, excavation directors for the IAA.
Considering what people had to use to erect huge temples, it's fascinating to see that stones cut for the buildings weighed two and a half tons, according to the archaeologists.
"The impressive (sized) stones this quarry produced likely attest to their intended use in one of Jerusalem’s many royal construction projects in the late Second Temple period, beginning under King Herod the Great’s reign between 37-4 (BC)."
Vitaria real estate development company owns the land that the quarry was found on, and they are also funding the project to excavate the rest.
"We are working tirelessly, together with the developer Vitania, to preserve and present the quarry and integrate it into the planned commercial complex which will be erected here," says IAA's Jerusalem District Supervisor, Dr. Amit Re'em. "In this manner, the entire public will gain a lasting impression of this tremendous enterprise’s grandeur – quarrying the building stones for Jerusalem when the Second Temple was standing."