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Popular Archaeology Israeli archaeologists have uncovered what they suggest may be the Byzantine quarry site referred to in the miracle story by Procopius of Caesarea. 
The recent discovery of a Jerusalem quarry by archaeologists have led some archaeologists to suggest that it may be the site of the miracle described by historian Procopius of Caesarea in his work,The Buildings of Justinian, where God provided a miraculous supply of stone for the construction of the Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos Church. During construction work in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, a large 20 ft (6 m) tall and 30 in (80 cm) wide red stone, chiseled into the shape of a column, was found. Upon notification of the discovery, the Israeli Antiquities Authority ordered a halt to the construction work and systematic archaeological investigation was initiated. The stone is considered to be a comparatively hard substance and not as easily worked as the stone that was typically used by ancient construction workers and stonemasons for building the well-known historical edifices of the Temple Mount. But it matched the description of the stone described in the Procopius miracle account of the Nea Ekklesia [Church] of the Theotokos : "God revealed a natural supply of stone perfectly suited to this purpose in the nearby hills, one which had either lain there in concealment previously, or was created at that moment& So the church is supported on all sides by a number of huge columns from that place, which in color resemble flames of fire& Two of these columns stand before the door of the church, exceptionally large and probably second to no column in the whole world." Nearby, additional evidence of columns chiseled from the stone were uncovered. Professor Yoram Zafir suggests that, given the nature of the finds and the location, they were used in the construction of a large church. Moreover, although no evidence was found clearly dating the columns to the Byzantine period, Evgeny Kagan of the Antiquities Authority says that they are likely Byzantine, based on an examination of the stone and the methods used by the stonemasons. The stone also bares the Arabic inscription, "Mizi Achmar," meaning red stone, corresponding to the "flames of fire", as Procopius described the stone. Examination of the stone revealed another possible story: The large, unfinished stone pillar, still connected and unremoved from its original quarry context, also showed a significant crack, apparently created while it was being worked. With the integrity of the column thus compromised, the workmen may have abandoned the column and did not attempt to move it because of the possibility that it would fall apart before it reached the construction site.
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