The discovery of such an old building offers a rare opportunity to examine the original foundations.
Archaeologist Katia Cytryn-Silverman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (Hebrew University)
Cytryn-Silverman estimated the mosque was 22 by 49 meters in size, with a courtyard, making it smaller than the slightly more recent mosque discovered on top of it, which is 78 by 90 meters and dates from a hundred years later, between 720 CE and 740 CE.
A clue to when the older mosque was built came from earth used as filling in the foundation, which was brought in from elsewhere. By consulting with an archaeologist in Yemen, Cytryn-Silverman was further convinced that “the construction technology used at the ancient mosque, a simple and pragmatic style uncharacteristic of the region, apparently first came to Israel at the start of the Arab conquest in the seventh century.”