In 1999 unauthorized construction on the Temple Mount by the Waqf resulted in trucks fulls of dirt filled with archaeological artifacts being dumped. In 2005 the Ir David Foundation joined a Bar Ilan University and the National Parks Authority, Temple Mount Sifting Project, where volunteers and professionals recover these artifacts. Thousands of artifacts have been recovered including 5,000 ancient coins. In March 2017 the Temple Mount Sifting Project announced it stopped collaborating with the Ir David Foundation. The reason was not published.