HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Southern Wall ( ''HaKotel HaDromi'') is the retaining wall of the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
at the southern end. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the
Ophel ''Ophel'' ( he, עֹ֫פֶל ''‘ōp̄el''), also Graecised to ''ophlas'', is the biblical term given to a certain part of a settlement or city that is elevated from its surroundings, and probably means fortified hill or risen area. In the Hebr ...
.


Construction

The Southern Wall is in length, and which the historian
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
equates as being equal to the length of one furlong (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ''stadion''). Herod's southern extension of the Temple Mount is clearly visible from the east, standing on the
Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
or to a visitor standing on top of the Temple mount as a slight change in the plane of the eastern wall, the so-called "Straight Joint." Herod's Royal Stoa stood atop this southern extension. The retaining wall is built of enormous blocks of
Jerusalem stone Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic: حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient ti ...
, the face of each ashlar (block) is edged with a margin, the
bossage Bossage is uncut stone that is laid in place in a building, projecting outward from the building, to later be carved into decorative moldings, capitals, arms, etc. Bossages are also rustic work, consisting of stones which seem to advance beyond ...
is raised about 3/8" above the surrounding margins. The unmortared blocks are so finely fitted together that a knife blade cannot be inserted between the ashlars. An enormous flight of steps leads to the Southern Wall from the south. They were excavated after 1967 by archaeologist
Benjamin Mazar Benjamin Mazar ( he, בנימין מזר; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeolog ...
and are the northernmost extension of the pilgrims road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
via the Double Gate and the Triple Gate. These are the steps that Jesus of Nazareth and other Jews of his era walked up to approach the Temple, especially on the great pilgrimage festivals of
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
,
Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan in ...
and
Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishr ...
. The stairs that lead to the double gate are intact and "well-preserved." The steps that lead to the triple gate were mostly destroyed. The risers are low, a mere 7 to 10 inches high, and each step is 12 to 35 inches deep, forcing the ascending pilgrims to walk with a stately, deliberate tread. The pilgrims entered the temple precincts through the double and triple gates still visible in the Southern Wall. Together, the double and triple gates are known as the Hulda Gates, after the prophetess
Huldah Huldah ( he, חֻלְדָּה ''Ḥuldā'') was a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and . According to the Bible, she was a prophetess. After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King ...
. The present iteration of the Triple Gates is not Herodian. One of the three gates measures at its width . The only Herodian element visible from the outside is the doorjamb on the bottom of the left-hand arch. The Double Gate is substantially concealed by a Crusader-era addition to the Temple Mount. Only half of the right-hand arch of the double gate is visible today from the outside, measuring at its exposed width . Over the part of the right-hand Herodian arched doorway that is visible is an ornate, decorative half-arch dating to the Umayyad period (661–750 CE). Just above it, the stub of an Herodian relieving arch is visible. Inside the Temple Mount, much of the original staircase and the arched, elaborately carved Herodian ceilings survive. According to archeologist Meir Ben-Dov, "On his way in and out of the Temple, Jesus must have walked here." The internal parts of the Herodian Double Gate survive, although the waqf rarely permits visitors to see it. Pilgrims, upon entering the Double Gate ( westward of the Triple Gates), were not immediately greeted by a wide-open courtyard. Rather, they continued to ascend a flight of stairs in a dome-shaped passageway carved into the rock which led up to the royal cloisters described by
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
(''
Antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the M ...
'' 15.11.5. 5.410, cloisters which ran in a westerly-easterly direction along the full length of the Southern Wall, but which now lead up into the old section of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situa ...
. The domed ceilings of the great staircases are carved with elaborate floral and geometric designs. Unlike the austere exterior gate, the interior of the gateway is elaborately decorated with ornately carved columns and ornamented domes. Two pairs of domes and their elaborate, surrounding columns survive intact. Intricately carved vines, rosettes, flowers and geometric patterns cover "every inch" of the "impressive" entry to the ancient Temple.


Archaeology

In a post-1967 dig led by archaeologists
Benjamin Mazar Benjamin Mazar ( he, בנימין מזר; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeolog ...
and
Meir Ben-Dov Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer. Alfr ...
, it was discovered that the Hulda gates led into a grand staircase and served as the principal entrance to the temple in the Roman period. During the post-1967 digs, an elaborate group of
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
administration buildings and palaces were uncovered just outside the Southern Wall. They have been carefully preserved and are now part of an archaeological park. The Umayyad Caliphate is understood to have repaired damage to the Huldah Gates and Pilgrim stairs caused by the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70, in order to use them for access to the newly built
Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initia ...
.


Latin inscription

Near the Double Gate is a reused marble slab with an inscription, that came from a statue of the emperor
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...
(138–161 AD). The Latin inscription (placed upside-down, and with the usual abbreviations) reads: This is a piece of stone from the base of the statue of Antoninus Pius, which stood in the Temple of
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
, built by the Romans in
Aelia Capitolina Aelia Capitolina (Traditional English Pronunciation: ; Latin in full: ) was a Roman colony founded during Emperor Hadrian's trip to Judah in 129/130, centered around Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. T ...
on the Temple Mount platform. The
Bordeaux Pilgrim The ''Itinerarium Burdigalense'' ("Bordeaux Itinerary"), also known as the ''Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum'' ("Jerusalem Itinerary"), is the oldest known Christian ''itinerarium''. It was written by the "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", an anonymous pilgrim ...
in 333 mentions two statues of the emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...
. Researchers believe that the second of these statues was dedicated to Hadrian's successor, Antoninus Pius, during whom the construction of Aelia Capitolina continued.


Repair work

In the early 21st century, a new bulge was noticed in the Southern Wall, threatening the structural integrity of the masonry. Unauthorized underground construction of the el-Marwani Mosque was cited as the cause. In a compromise between Israel, the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
and the Muslim Waqf that manages the property, it was decided that Jordan would manage the repairs. The Jordanian repair, visible as a bright, white patch in the photo above, has been criticized as "unsightly", an "eyesore", and a "terrible job" because it is out of keeping with the common practices of historical restoration in being of a lighter color and smoother surface than the original stone.


Points of Interest

A number of points of interest are situated along the wall, within the al-Aqsa Compound and outside, including;


Outside of the Wall

# the
Ophel ''Ophel'' ( he, עֹ֫פֶל ''‘ōp̄el''), also Graecised to ''ophlas'', is the biblical term given to a certain part of a settlement or city that is elevated from its surroundings, and probably means fortified hill or risen area. In the Hebr ...
- the extended City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem). # the Southern Steps: a large monumental flight of stairs on the southern side of the Temple Mount # Remains of Fatimid period fortifications # Umayyad period residential and administrative structures # the Huldah Gates (eastern and western)


Inside the Wall

From west to east: # the al-Fakhariyya Minaret. # the White Mosque (the Women's Mosque), today the al-Aqsa Library. # the
al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situa ...
(al-Qibli Mosque). # the Musalla of Omar (Mosque of Omar): a
musalla A musalla ( ar-at, مصلى, muṣallá) is a space apart from a mosque, mainly used for prayer in Islam.''The Encyclopaedia of Islam''. New Edition. Brill, Leiden. Vol. 7, pg. 658; ''al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya.'' Kuwait 1998. Vol. 38, pg 29 Th ...
in the east wing of the al-Qibli Mosque. # the Mehrab Dawud (): a in the wall. mphasis added/ref> (The name was also applied to the main tower of the city's citadel.)


Gallery

File:PikiWiki Israel 5346 archeological garden in jerusalem.jpg, Southwestern corner of the Southern wall showing pillars of
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...
fortification File:Temple mount south wall2.jpg, Close-up view of Southern Wall, near the western edge, showing the carved margins and raised bosses on the ashlars File:Southern Wall3349.JPG,
Mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and tah ...
unearthed during excavations File:PikiWiki Israel 4050 huldas steps.jpg, Pilgrim steps as they approach the Double Huldah Gate File:The Triple Gates IMG 0083.jpg, Triple Huldah Gates File:The Double Gate IMG 0082.jpg, Visible portion of Double Gate File:Huldah Gates3347.JPG, Double Gate File:Eastern gate of huldah L.jpg, Triple Gate File:A. Salzmann - Huldah Gates - Jerusalem.jpg, Triple Gate in 1855 photo File:Jerusalem-2013(2)-Aerial-Temple Mount-Al-Aqsa Mosque (east exposure).jpg, Aerial photo of Southern Wall (2013)


See also

*
Archaeology of Israel The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cu ...
* Robinson's Arch *
Acra (fortress) The Acra (also spelled Akra, from grc, Ἄκρα, he, חקרא ,חקרה ''Ḥaqra(h)''), with the meaning of "stronghold" (see under "Etymology"), was a place in Jerusalem thought to have had a fortified compound built by Antiochus Epiphan ...
* Monastery of the Virgins, Byzantine, in the Ophel area *
Walls of Jerusalem The Walls of Jerusalem ( he, חומות ירושלים, ar, أسوار القدس) surround the Old City of Jerusalem (approx. 1 km2). In 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman I ordered the ruined city wa ...
*
Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...


References


External links


Jerusalem Archaeological Park


{{Old City (Jerusalem) Archaeological sites in Jerusalem Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Temple Mount Walls Jewish holy places New Testament geography Ancient sites in Jerusalem Classical sites in Jerusalem