Israel: Researchers Hope Cosmic Rays Can Help Uncover History Of Ancient Jerusalem

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Israeli researchers have installed a muon detector in a cavern under Jerusalem’s Old City in the hope it will use subatomic particles created by cosmic rays to send images of previously inaccessible ancient passageways, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.

The brainchild of scientists and archaeologists from Tel Aviv University, the project is intended to explore underground areas of ancient Jerusalem that cannot be excavated and dug up for geological and religious reasons.

The muon detector was designed by the TAU researchers to capture and register the angular distribution of muons, particles created when cosmic rays smash into the earth’s atmosphere, TOI reports.

Particle physics may provide an extraordinary, non-invasive method of uncovering evidence of Jerusalem’s history lying beneath densely packed layers of rock settlement that cannot be accessed through traditional archaeological methods, the researchers have said.

The researchers are hoping the muon radiography method will reveal, among other things, evidence of Jerusalem’s ancient fortifications and pathways to the Gihon Spring, the city’s source of water in ancient times.

“All ancient cities needed a water supply and fortified, secret ways to get to there in case of emergency or war,” Prof. Oded Lipschits, director of Ancient Israel Studies at the university told TOI.

“It is our dream to scan underground in a search for tunnels that might lead us to the Temple Mount,” Prof. Erez Etzion of the School of Physics and Astronomy added. “The muon detectors can provide us with tools to search underground passively.”

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