Meleke
Meleke ( Melekeh , Malaki , Hebrew אבן ירושלמית ([ 'even jəruʃal'mɪt ]), Jerusalem stone ) is a white limestone ( biosparite ) and formative for the architecture in old and modern Jerusalem . It has been used extensively as a building material since the epoch of King Herod ; the most extensive processing so far took place in the Herodian Temple . The name comes from the Arabic-Hebrew word for royal .
history
Antiquity
Meleke is a building and decorative stone that has been used since pre-Christian times. Its easy workability when fresh and the slow hardening in the air make it particularly attractive as a building material. It has determined the architectural image of the old city of Jerusalem for centuries. Early buildings with this limestone are archaeologically documented from the 10th century BC.
The Herodian Temple (created in 21 BC through the redesign of existing buildings) and other buildings from this era represent an early high point in artisanal stone extraction and processing for architectural purposes in Palestine . In view of the large quantities of stone used, efficient methods of transporting heavy stone blocks must have existed.
Another remarkable application of the soft limestone from the Cretaceous layers in and around Jerusalem is documented by numerous excavated stone vessels. These are items for everyday use (cups, bowls, bowls, plates, jars, vases, ink containers, etc.) and for sacred cleaning activities ( mikvahs ) in the household. The most important production site for stone vessels is the quarry cave of Hizme, a former Arab village about six kilometers north of the Temple Mount. The corresponding excavations were carried out by Y. Magen from 1982 to 1983. In the three cave chambers characteristic processing waste from turning and carving of the limestone, relevant metal tools and many small half-finished objects of this type was found. Larger objects whose blanks up to 500 kilograms weighed ( ossuaries and columns ), are on the interpretation of previous excavations in Jerusalem workshops by Hydropower worked. Finds from the Jerusalem City of David for the 1st century AD provide reliable evidence for the manufacture of stone vessels on a lathe in this region .
Modern application practice
According to existing municipal regulations, the facades of the houses must always be built with Meleke or other limestone from the region. This urban design standard goes back to the British mandate, when Sir Ronald Storrs was governor of Jerusalem. In 1918, Sir William McLean had drawn up a general plan for urban development that had been drawn up. The stone's good weather resistance has made it known for applications far beyond the city limits of Jerusalem.
Occurrence
The historical mining sites of Meleke limestone are located in the north of the old city of Jerusalem, especially not far from the Damascus Gate . They are known as Solomon's Quarries ( Zedekiah's Cave , Jeremiah's Grotto or Solomon's Quarries ). It is a 230 m long cave that extends under the old town. The traces of former stone crusher work can be seen in it. According to tradition, King Zedekiah fled from the Babylonians through this cave .
Origin, properties, mineralogy
The Meleke limestone was formed in the Upper Cretaceous , specifically in the Turon , about 90 million years ago. As a result, this limestone is comparatively young. Meleke and other limestones extracted in the Jerusalem region are classified by Israeli geologists according to regional criteria in the chronostratigraphic units Judea group ( Apt to Turon) and Mount Scopus group (Senon). The most important limestone deposits are predominantly part of the regional Bi'na Formation (also Baana Formation ), a subordinate area of the Judea group . There is an equivalent limestone of the Netser Formation in the Negev .
Meleke limestone ( Royal variety ) is an almost white, dense limestone with crystalline parts in a thick-banked deposit. It is criss-crossed by parallel stylolites . The fossils mainly include calcified molluscs and long spindle-shaped foraminifera remains . The rock is inhomogeneous, but the characteristics of a reef limestone are dominant.
The types described below have different proportions of dolomite . Reddish tones are caused by iron minerals .
Immediately after dismantling, the Meleke is an easy-to-work stone that gradually hardens. It can be polished well. Due to atmospheric influences, the surfaces acquire a yellowish color over time.
Usage examples for Meleke
Jerusalem:
- Herodian Temple (no longer available), Western Wall
- Damascus Gate
- Buildings in the old city of Jerusalem
- Russian Cathedral ( Trinity Cathedral )
- Migrash ha Russim (Russenplatz, Russian Compound )
- Edison cinema
- Jewish Center Munich (interior work)
Varieties and Competing Rocks
As today's trade name Jerusalem stone is common and summarizes a group of similar natural stones obtained in Israel . These include the types of stone from the Jerusalem area:
- Mizzi Hilu (Sweet rock)
- Meleke (Royal)
- Mizzi Ahmar (Red rock)
- Mizzi Yahudi (Jewish rock) .
From a stratigraphic point of view, all these stones belong to the Judea group (chalk) and have a changing mineral composition. In most cases they have a yellow to beige color, in individual cases tending to reddish ( Mizzi Ahmar / Kefar Veradim Formation / Cenoman) or tending to gray ( Mizzi Yahudi / Kefar Veradim Formation / Cenoman).
Another type of stone to be mentioned here (calcitic-dolomitic marl rock ) is Deir-Yasini , also belonging to the stratigraphic Judea group ( Kefar Sha'ul Formation / Cenoman), it is often used in the region for floor slabs.
literature
- Richard S. Barnett: The Building Stones of Jerusalem . (05.13. 2006) [1]
- Roland Deines : Jewish stone vessels and Pharisaic piety. An archaeological-historical contribution to the understanding of John 2,6 and the Jewish purity halacha at the time of Jesus . (Scientific studies on the New Testament. 2, row 52). Tübingen (JCB Mohr) 1993, ISBN 3-16-146022-7 .
- Yishai Eldar: Jerusalem Architecture Since 1948 . (2008) [2]
- Ehud Netzer: The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder. Texts and studies in Ancient Judaism 117 . (Mohr, Siebeck) ISBN 3-16-148570-X .
- Izhamar Perath: Stone Building and Building Stone in Israel . Jerusalem (Geological Survey of Israel) 1984
