What did the Knights Templar do on Temple Mount
Guard the Road to the Holy Land or Treasure Hunt in Solomon's Temple
Dec 21, 2008
Within 20 years a small band of men emerged from the Crusader army to form the Knights Templar one of the richest, most powerful, yet mysterious groups in Medieval history.
Knights Templar
With a stated aim of ensuring the safety of pilgrims travelling between the Mediterranean ports and the Holy Land, the Knights Templar offered their services to Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem in c 1119.
Led by Hugh de Payens, a group of nine made their headquarters on the Temple Mount or Al-Haram al-Sharif, home of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Temple Mount
In a city of three great monotheistic faiths the Temple Mount is believed to be the spot where Abraham offered his son Isaac for sacrifice, where Mohammed ascended to heaven and the home to Solomon’s First Temple.
Alan Butler co-author of The Warriors and the Bankers has challenged the Templar aim. He said: “ There doesn’t seem to be a single documented account of anyone who ascribed guarding the road to the Templars.” George Smart author of the Knights Templar Chronology agreed and said: “Nine guys just can’t protect that many pilgrims.”
What Were the Templars Doing on Temple Mount?
Mystery and intrigue has never been far removed from Templar history and perhaps one of the biggest mysteries was what happened to them in the first eight or nine years after their formation? What were they doing on the Temple Mount before they returned to Europe in 1128?
It is now argued by some historians that their real plan was in fact to search for treasure and holy relics beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
A possible clue came to light after archaeological excavations, under the Temple Mount, by a British archaeological team in 1867. They discovered a series of vertical tunnels ascending to the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque then spreading out to the Dome of the Rock.
When the site was re-examined at the end of the 19th century by the British Army’s Royal Engineers they found Templar artefacts scattered throughout the tunnels.
Although nothing large was discovered, items that included spurs and pieces of Templar armament were found. Writer and historian, Dr Tim Wallace-Murphy believes it was sufficient to indicate a Templar presence.
Temple of Solomon
What were they looking for? The Knights Templar has long been connected with the search for holy and sacred relics. A letter written in 1187 from a surviving Crusader claimed the Templars had found a piece of the “true cross” and early Masonic record linked them with the Ark of the Covenant and other ‘treasure’ buried in ruins of the Temple of Solomon.
Although there are many competing theories on the subject, a strong body of opinion believes the Templars were looking for precious relics, including the Holy Grail, objects that the Catholic Church would have been desperate to possess or perhaps suppress.
Roman Seige of Jerusalem
However George Smart says the prevailing theory is that the Templars were simply archaeologists digging under the Temple of Solomon for the valuable treasure left by the fleeing Jews after the Roman siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE.
Sources:
BBC
George Smart, Alan Butler and Dr Tim Wallace-Murphy History Channel
Channel Five TV
 |
 |
