ISRAEL DENIES FINDING MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM AT TEMPLE MOUNT DIG

Israel Denies Report of Muslim Prayer Room at Mughrabi Dig (Jerusalem Post)
The Israel Antiquities Authority on Sunday denied a report that an archaeological dig at the Mughrabi Gate near Jerusalem's Temple Mount found a Muslim prayer room.

An IAA spokesman said: "We did in fact find a room three years ago but we didn't have permission to dig at the site. Now that we have permission, we are going to try and identify what this room is."

The spokesman denied that Jerusalem district archaeologist Yuval Baruch had released a statement in which he described the ruins that were discovered after the snowstorm three years ago as containing an alcove covered with a dome, a kind of Muslim prayer niche.

The spokesman said further research was needed before authorities can say exactly what the room was used for.