Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident
Underground searches for the ark beneath the Temple Mount — what really happened
Found 1867 — Charles Warren (Palestine Exploration Fund) mapped the gate and passages 1867–70; Rabbi Yehuda Getz and Rabbi Shlomo Goren opened the passage in July 1981
Where Western Wall Tunnel, north of the Western Wall plaza, Jerusalem (Israel / Jerusalem (contested))
Dates from Gate 1st century BCE; incident 1981 · Herodian gate; medieval cistern; modern incident · Tradition ties the ark's hiding to Josiah's day, before 586 BCE
Now at Warren's Gate is visible, sealed, in the Western Wall Tunnel; the chamber behind it remains closed
How Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident was found
Warren's shafts and tunnels traced a blocked Herodian gate in the western wall, later used as a cistern. On 22 July 1981 Getz's workers, tunneling north along the wall, broke into the vaulted chamber behind Warren's Gate; after word leaked (27 August) Waqf workers confronted them and Israeli authorities sealed the opening.
What it is
Warren's Gate is one of four Herodian gates in the Temple Mount's western wall, closest to where the temple stood. Behind it lies a long vaulted passage, about 8 m wide and 10 m high, converted into a cistern in the Middle Ages. Rabbinic tradition (Mishnah Shekalim 6:1-2) says the ark was hidden in a chamber beneath the Temple Mount, and Getz believed this passage led toward it.
Why it matters for the Bible
The Bible last mentions the ark in Jerusalem under Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:3) and never says what became of it; the 'hidden under the Temple Mount' idea comes from later Jewish tradition, not Scripture. The 1981 episode shows how powerful that hope remains — and how dangerous, since the clash nearly sparked a wider conflict. Archaeologically, no excavation has ever been permitted under the platform, and the Warren's Gate passage, though real and impressive, is a Herodian gateway and medieval cistern, not a chamber of the First Temple. Claims that the ark was seen there rest on Getz's word alone.
The Hebrew word: ah-ROHN hab-BREET
אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית
אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית is pronounced ah-ROHN hab-BREET and means the ark of the covenant (Strong's H727 + H1285).
People this discovery connects to
- Josiah — יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yo-shee-YAH-hoo) — YHVH supports
- Jeremiah — יִרְמְיָהוּ (yir-me-YAH-hoo) — YHVH exalts
Places
- Temple Mount (Mount Moriah) — הַר הַבַּיִת (hahr hab-BAH-yit) — mountain of the House
Events
Josiah returns the ark to the temple (2 Chronicles 35:3) · Destruction of the First Temple, 586 BCE · Rabbinic tradition of the ark hidden beneath the Mount
Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident in Scripture
Exodus 25:10 First mention of ark of the covenant in Scripture.
Jeremiah 3:16 Jeremiah foresees days when the ark 'shall not come to mind... nor shall it be made again' — the Bible's own quiet farewell to the ark.
2 Chronicles 35:3 The last biblical mention of the ark, in Josiah's reign — the starting point for every theory about where it went.
Questions people ask
What is Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident?
Warren's Gate is one of four Herodian gates in the Temple Mount's western wall, closest to where the temple stood. Behind it lies a long vaulted passage, about 8 m wide and 10 m high, converted into a cistern in the Middle Ages. Rabbinic tradition (Mishnah Shekalim 6:1-2) says the ark was hidden in a chamber beneath the Temple Mount, and Getz believed this passage led toward it.
When was Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident discovered?
It was found in 1867 by Charles Warren (Palestine Exploration Fund) mapped the gate and passages 1867–70; Rabbi Yehuda Getz and Rabbi Shlomo Goren opened the passage in July 1981, at Western Wall Tunnel, north of the Western Wall plaza, Jerusalem.
Where is Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident today?
Warren's Gate is visible, sealed, in the Western Wall Tunnel; the chamber behind it remains closed.
Which Bible verses does Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident relate to?
Exodus 25:10, Jeremiah 3:16, 2 Chronicles 35:3.
Is Warren's Gate and the 1981 Temple Mount Tunnel Incident authentic?
Warren's Gate and the passage are archaeologically documented; claims that the ark lies beyond them are unverified tradition, and the 1981 'sighting' was never substantiated.
Related discoveries
- נְבוֹMount Nebo and the Hidden Ark of 2 MaccabeesThe mountain where Moses died — and where a Jewish tradition says Jeremiah hid the ark
- כַּפֹּרֶתRon Wyatt's 'Ark' beneath Skull HillA popular claim that the ark lies under the crucifixion site — and why archaeologists reject it
- שִׁלֹהShiloh's Burnt Layer and Sacred-Precinct WallThe fiery end of Iron I Shiloh around 1050 BCE — the aftermath of Eben-ezer?
- בֵּית יְהוָהArad Ostraca (the Eliashib Archive)Supply orders from a Judean desert fort naming the 'House of YHVH' and the Kittim
- עֵין גֶּדִיEn-Gedi (Tel Goren) Stratum VA royal perfume village by the Dead Sea, burned in the Babylonian conquest
- אֲשֵׁרָהJudean Pillar FigurinesThousands of little clay women from Judah's homes — Asherah, prayer aids or charms?
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Warren's Gate'
- Daily Beast, 'Indiana Jones Rabbi Thought He Found the Ark of the Covenant and Nearly Started a War'
- Ritmeyer Archaeological Design, 'Underground Battle for the Temple Mount'
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