(Photo By: Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)
By: TOI Staff - February 22, 2021
Inspectors have carried out a biannual safety inspection and maintenance of the Western Wall, with rabbis overseeing the injection of preservation materials into the corroding stone, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday.
“We have an ‘identity card’ for each of the hundreds of stones in the plaza and monitor dozens of features,” said Yossi Vaknin, head conservator for the IAA at the Western Wall.
“We do not drill into the stone, but delicately inject dissolved stone into the gaps and fissures… It is the best possible method of ‘healing’ the stones and the ultimate defense against weathering for the most important stones in the world,” he said.
Vaknin added that the work was carefully done to ensure the preservation of the plants that have taken root in the stones of the wall, as well as the birds that nest in its boulders.
Read More: Times of Israel