recently, it has been suggested that the reference is to certain sacred stones (possibly meteorites) that were fixed to the temple's altar of sacrifice for the purposes of pagan worship, since the use of such stones is well-attested in Canaanite and Syrian cults. Both proposals have been criticized on the basis that they are too speculative, or dependent on flawed analysis, or not well-suited to the relevant context in the Book of Daniel; and more recent scholarship tends to see the "abomination" as a reference to either the pagan offerings that replaced the forbidden twice-daily Jewish offering (cf. Daniel 11:31, 12:11; 2 Maccabees 6:5), or the pagan altar on which such offerings were made. New Testament In 63 BCE, the Romans captured Jerusalem and Judea became an outpost of the Roman Empire, but in 66 CE the Jews rose in revolt against the Romans as their ancestors had once done against Antiochus. The resulting First Jewish–Roman War ended in 70 CE when the legions of the Roman general Titus surrounded and eventually captured Jerusalem; the city and the temple were razed to the ground, and the only habitation on the site until the first third of the next century was a Roman military camp. It was against this background that the gospels were written, Mark around 70 AD and Matthew and Luke around 80–85. It is almost certain that none of the authors were eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus, and Mark was the source used by the authors of Matthew and Luke for their "abomination of desolation" passages. Chapter 13 of Mark's gospel is a speech of Jesus concerning the return of the Son of Man and the advent of the Kingdom of God, which will be signaled by the appearance of the "abomination of desolation". It begins with Jesus in the temple informing his disciples that "not one stone here will be left on another, all will be thrown down"; the disciples ask when this will happen, and in Jesus tells them: "[W]hen you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Mark 13:14). Mark's terminology is drawn from Daniel, but he places the fulfilment of the prophecy in his own day, underlining this in Mark 13:30 by stating that "this generation will not pass away before all these