The Legacy of Solomon

The Temple of Jerusalem was razed to the ground by the Roman Titus in 73AD, not a single stone was left standing, its sacred treasures stolen and paraded in Rome for the conqueror's triumph, the city's people were massacred and carried off into slavery. The Temple Mount was transformed into a Roman garrison and Jews were forbidden entry into the city under pain of death. Today the Temple Mount is the Harem esh-Sharif, the second most holy site of Islam, it is where the Temple is believed, by Jews and Christians alike, to have once stood. It is now controlled by the Muslim Waqf. and all archaeological research or excavation is strictly forbidden to the chagrin of the Jews and the site has become a permanent source of conflict between Jews and Muslims provoking the second Intifada.
Pat O'Connelly, an Irish American writer, meets Isaac de Lussac in Paris, an obscure biblical archaeologist, who believes he has discovered the solution to the enigma of the Temple, building his theory on the work carried out by the Palestinian Survey Fund founded in the 19th century by Queen Victoria's Royal Engineers.
A Swiss trust, dedicated to the reconciliation of Jews and Muslims, decides to back the work and O'Connelly travels to Jerusalem where he explores the source of the archaeologist's theory. He discovers the history of Jerusalem and Israel, a land where the word armageddon was born, the battle between God and Satan, and a history of three thousand years of war and strife. His investigations leads to Gaza City, where he is caught up in the never ending Israeli-Palestinian war.