From Reuters News Agency: Archaeologists have found an ancient quarry where King Herod’s workers may have chiselled the giant stones used to rebuild Bayis Sheni.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Sunday experts believe stones as long as 8 meters (24 feet) were extracted from the quarry and then dragged by oxen to building sites such as the Bais Hamikdash.

“This construction most likely included the walls of the Temple Mount and other monumental buildings,” the authority said in a statement.

Some of the blocks discovered at the site resemble stones used in the lower parts of the Temple Mount compound, the statement said.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said workers stumbled upon the quarry during excavations as part of a plan to build a new school in Ramat Shlomo.

Archaeologists also discovered coins and shards of pottery which confirm the quarry was operating during the Second Temple period, when rulers of the city under King Herod embarked on major construction projects.