Alec Garrard, an 80-year-old retired farmer from Norfolk, England, has spent the last thirty years working on a model of Herod’s Biblical Temple. And his work is absolutely breathtaking.
Mr. Garrard has always loved building models. As he got older, he began thinking about a big project to create.
Having always been interested in architecture and religion, the retired farmer thought to combine his two passions and create a one of a kind model of Herod’s Temple.
He had seen one or two other models of the structure during Biblical exhibitions, but he didn’t think they were very accurate.
And he knew he could do better, so he did.
He started when he was in his 40’s. He spent the first three years just researching the Biblical temple and then began constructing the model.
Oh, and it is 100% by hand.
He cut the plywood frames of the temple walls, baked all the clay bricks in the oven and then stuck them together, and even sculpted and painted 4,000 half-inch figurines and dressed them in costumes.
It looks absolutely amazing, Garrard says, “I have been working on it for decades, but it will never be finished as I’m always finding something new to add”. According to historians, Garrard’s temple is the most accurate model of Herod’s temple and they believe this is how it would have looked before it was destroyed.