A British researcher is claiming to have located the artefacts that were taken from the Second Temple during its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. It had been believed that after Titus ransacked the Temple, the artefacts including the silver trumpets, candelabra and other instruments were shipped back to Rome, and were now held in the Vatican's vaults. But according to research carried out by archaeologist Dr. Sean Kingsley, after studying the writings of Josephus, the Temple treasures were returned to Jerusalem and buried under a monastery.

Quote: "Kingsley explained that during the 1990s Israeli and Vatican officials confronted each other on the issue of location of these treasures. Israel even claimed that the Pope was hiding them in Rome. "The Temple treasure remains a deadly political tool in the volatile Arab-Israeli conflict centered on the Temple Mount," said Kingsley. "The treasure's final hiding place - in the modern West Bank... deep in Hamas territory - will rock world religions," he added.

There is no doubt, a find such as this would "rock" the world. It would constitute incontrovertible proof that a Jewish Temple once stood on the site now occupied by the Al-Aqsa mosque. There have also been claims that the ark of the covenant, which was placed inside the Holy of Holies, is concealed in a cave beneath the mount. But the Temple Institute has been painstakingly recreating all the Temple artefacts, including the garments of the High Priest, ready for use whenever the Temple is finally rebuilt during the tribulation period. I strongly suspect we will not see the rebuilding of the Temple (if the rapture takes place before the tribulation begins). I believe it will be built during the first half of the seven year period, and will be defiled by the Antichrist in the middle of that period.

Source YNet News