In his book The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot, Ernest L. Martin presents his thesis that both the first and second Jewish temples were located south of the presently accepted Dome of the Rock location. His theory places the temple location in the ancient City of David over the Ophel Spring, and supports the belief that Jesus words when he predicted the complete destruction of the temple with not a stone left on another were literally fulfilled.1
Martins first proof of the location of the temple deals with the real location of Mount Zion. Any modern map of Jerusalem will correctly show the true location of the original Mount Zion, or City of David, at the southern end of the southeastern ridge of Jerusalem. Due to the efforts of W.F. Birch and the discovery in 1880 C.E. of the Hezekiahan inscription about the construction of the tunnel from the Gihon Spring to the southern end of the southeast ridge, the controversy over the location of Zion was finally settled. It was then determined that the southeast ridge was the actual site of Mount Zion and this was the true City of David. Dr. Martin contends that Jerusalem was built in ancient times around and over the Gihon Spring in order to have water form the only spring within a radius of five miles of the city. Unfortunately, says Martin, while scholars recognized the true site of Zion, they did not consider the location of the Temple in this correction and still consider the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount to be the location of the first and second temple. They do this, he says, in spite of the fact that many texts in the Bible identify Zion as equivalent to the Temple, and the Bible even indicates that the Temple was abutting to the northern side of the City of David. ...
Martin points to the Gihon Spring as his second proof for the southern location of the Temple. The Gihon Spring is the only spring within the city limits of Jerusalem. An eyewitness named Aristeas who viewed the Temple in about 285 B.C. stated that the Temple was located over an inexhaustible spring that welled up within the interior part of the Temple.2 The Roman historian Tacitus also gave a reference that the Temple at Jerusalem had within its precincts a natural spring of water that issued from its interior.3 Martin believes that this water source in the center of the Temple is the Gihon Spring south of the Dome of the Rock and on the southeastern ridge of Jerusalem.
The location of the Gihon Spring is also important. Aristeas said that a peson could look northward from the top of the City of David and could easily witness all priestly activities within the Temple precincts.4 Martin points out that the area of the Dome of the Rock is 1000 feet north of the original City of David and is much too far away for anyone to look down into the courts of the Temple. In addition, there has never been a natural water spring within the Haram esh-Sharif where the Dome of the Rock is located.
As was stated earlier Aristeas and Tacitus both stated that the Temple had an inexhaustible spring within its interior and the Gihon is the only spring in Jerusalem. Martin also points out that spring water is mentioned in numerous ways throughout the Psalms as the waters of salvation that come from the Throne or House of God. Spring waters were an essential part of Temple requirements and are to accompany any future Temple. (See Ezekiel 47:1, Revelation 21:2-6; 22:1, 17)
Interestingly, we have an eyewitness account by Hecateus of Abdera written near the time of Alexander the Great that tells us that the Temple was located nearly in the center of the City of David.5 Josephus said that the Lower City which was once the site of the City of David was on a ridge shaped like a crescent moon. The horns of this crescent pointed toward the Kidron Valley with the northern horn near the present southern wall of the Haram esh-Sharif and the southern horn just north of the confluence of the Valley of Hinnom. The exact center of this cresent-shaped ridge would have been at the Ophel Mound directly over the Gihon Spring.1 The Bible even tells us that the Temple was located in the center of Jerusalem.
Psalm 116:18, 19 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst(center), O Jerusalem, Praise the Lord. (In Hebrew, the English word rendered midst means center in geographical contexts and is so translated by several versions.)
Martin also says that the destruction of the Temple after the Jewish/Roman War of 66 to 70 A.D. puts the Temple location south of the Dome of the Rock over the Gihon Spring. Jesus told his disciples, when describing the coming destruction of the Temple, that not one stone of the Temple and its support buildings would be left on top of another.
Matthew 21:1-2 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. Do you see all these things? He asked. I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.
Martin presents eyewitness accounts of both Josephus and Titus (the Roman general who conducted the war against the Jews) who give the description of utter ruin and thorough destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus and Titus mentioned that if they had not been in Jerusalem during the war and personally seen the demolition that took place, they would not have believed that there was once a city in the area.6 Josephus even described it as Jesus said it would be when he wrote of the destruction of Jerusalem following the war.
It [Jerusalem] was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited.7
Martin explains as Josephus did why every stone was turned over in the city. It was customary for Jews to hide their gold and other valuables in the walls of their homes when their homes were threatened. The Temple itself was also the treasury of the Jewish nation and when the fires consumed the Temple and the city, the gold that was hidden in the walls melted and descended into the cracks and crevices of the stone foundations of the Temple. In order to recover the gold, the Roman army had the Jewish captives uproot every stone of the Temple and the whole of the City. This left Jerusalem a land of dislodged and uprooted stones.
According to Martin, though the Temple was completely destroyed, one man-made construction did come through the war, and is still in use today as the complex where the Dome of the Rock was built. This remaining building was used by the Tenth Legion after the war as their military headquarters when they remained behind to prevent any further revolutions. An eyewitness, Eleazer, the leader of the last remnant of Jews in Masada who finally committed suicide rather than fall into the hands of General Silva of the Tenth Legion three years after the main war was over, said that the Temple then lay in ruins and the City of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed. His comments follow:
It [Jerusalem] is now demolished to the very foundations, and hath nothing left but that monument of it preserved, I mean the camp of those [the Romans] that hath destroyed it, which still dwells upon its ruins: some unfortunate old men also lie upon the ashes of the Temple, and a few women are there preserved alive by the enemy [for prostitution purposes], for our bitter shame and reproach. 8
The remaining building still left standing, according to Martins theory, was Fort Antonia, the fortress built by Herod the Great that was much larger than the Temple in size. Josephus said it was as large as a city and could hold a full Legion of troops.9 Josephus also said that Fort Antonia was built around a massive and prominent outcropping of rock that was a notable protective feature within its precincts.10 This description fits perfectly with the present Haram esh-Sharif and the Dome of the Rock now covering that significant outcropping of rock. This rock was also called the Roman Praetorium and it was the place where Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. The rock was a significant spot in the fortress, and even the apostle John singled it out for comment regarding the judgement of Jesus. John called it the lithostrothon [a rock, on which people could stand and be judged,].11