Pictures from the Holyland » Jerusalem

The Ophel

dgrushko — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:39:01 +0000

The Ophel, perhaps meaning “fortified hill,” is the name of the narrow promontory beyond the southern edge of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and Old City. Despite the name, the Old City of Jerusalem dates from a much later time than the settlement in the Ophel, which is generally considered to have been the original Jerusalem. Since the Books of Samuel credit David as the first Israelite ruler of the city on Ophel, the archaeological remains of the city are usually referred to as the City of David.

This site include the southern wall of the Temple mount and the excavation near thesouthern wall.

Most of the remains are from the Herod the great and the second Temple period.

The Southern Wall

The Western Wall

An Herodian Jug

The Eastern wall – The second Temple was built twice, first by Ezra and was fortified by the Hasmonean, the second time by Herod the great. On the right side - the Hasmonean stones, and on the left side the Herodian stones for the enlargement of the Temple Mount.

Hulda Gates , The eastern Hulda Gate, built in the Second Temple period, was a triple gate. Of the original masonry, only the threshhold and the lowest stone of the left doorpost have survived.

Aelia Capitolina coin

Robinson Arch

A pier of large stones which originally supported the western springer of Robinson’s Arch. The arch supported a monumental stairway leading up to the Temple Mount plaza. these structures were built by King Herod as a part of the expansion of the Temple Mount enclosure.

The remains of Jerusalem’s main street running the length of the Western Wall along the Tyropoeon Valley.

This stone was found among the collapsed stone , ”to the place of the trumpeting to …”

Herodian Oil-Lamp

A Lavatory compartment

A Ritual Bath

A residential building from the Byzantine period.

The Temple Mount

dgrushko — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:28:51 +0000

The Temple Mount (Har Habayit, Haram esh-Sharif)is the holiest site for Judaism. The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem stood there: the First Temple (built c. 967 BC, destroyed c. 586 BC by the Babylonians), and the Second Temple (rebuilt c. 516 BC, destroyed in the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD).

Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70, the area of the Temple was deliberately left in ruins (first by the Romans, then by the Byzantines). This desecration was not redressed until the Muslim conquest of the city by the Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab in 638. He ordered the clearing of the site and the building of a “house of prayer”.

Some 50 years later, the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock to enshrine the outcrop of bedrock believed to be the “place of the sacrifice” on Mount Moriah. He (or his son, the Caliph al-Walid I) also built the large mosque at the southern end of the Haram, which came to be called al-Aksa after the Koranic name attributed to the entire area.

Hulda Gates

A stairway in front of the north entrance to the al-Aksa Mosque leads down to a vaulted passageway and the walled-up Hulda Gates, which had been an entrance to the Temple Mount Platform at the time of the Herodian Second Temple.

Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock stands on or near the approximate site of the Jewish Temple (most of the scholars today think the rock is the place of the Holy of Holies).

Al Aksa Mosque

The Golden Gate – The House of the gate.

Part of the Antiquities founded on the Temple mount

One of the gate to the Temple mount

Jerusalem – Burial sites and Tombs

dgrushko — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:55:40 +0000

The large number of burial sites and tombs in Jerusalem dating from the Second Temple period (second century BC – first century AD) have been the subject of intensive and continuing investigation. Hundreds of tombs, elaborate and simple, were hewn into the slopes of the hills surrounding the city, mainly on the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus.

The burial caves were in continuous use for several generations by members of the same family. Simple tombs have a narrow opening, sealed with a square stone. Several dozen particularly large tombs have splendid facades. In primary burial, bodies were placed in niches (kuhim) or on benches (arcosolia) cut into the walls of the burial chambers. The most typical feature of the Jewish tombs of that period are the stone chests with lids (ossuaries). Thousands of these have been found in Jerusalem. They attest to the prevalent practice of collecting the bones of the deceased for secondary burial.

Kidron Valley Tombs

Yad Avshalom

Monument to Absalom, traditionally ascribed to the rebellious son of King David (but the funerary monument dating to the Second Temple period).

The Tomb of Zechariah (by tradition the Prophet Zechariah)

Judean Ossuary

The Tomb of Bnei Hazir

The tomb dates to the Hasmonean period. It has a long Hebrew inscription carved on the architrave above the columns, identifying it as the tomb and nefesh of several members of the Hezir family who had served as priests in the Temple.

The Tombs of the Sanhedrin

(Are located northwest of the Old City, in the neighborhood still called Sanhedria)

There are no evidence How was buried here (and in the other burial caves) except the fact that this cave contains several dozen burial niches, roughly the number of the members of the Sanhedrin.

Judean Ossuary

Yason Tomb

A Tomb from the Hasmonean period, found in the center of the new parts of Jerusalem.

City of David

dgrushko — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:41:41 +0000

The City of David was built in the south of the Temple Mount and is strategically surrounded on all sides by valleys. It is perched above its source of water, the Gihon spring, which continue to flow plentifully to this day. The ridge was inhabited as early as the prehistoric Chalcolithic period, but the first signs of a fortified city date back to the Middle Bronze Age – the days of Abraham (1800 B.C.). While the city was relatively small (12 acres), it was strongly fortified. Massive walls and towers and a sophisticated water system indicate that “Shalem”, as the bible refers to the city in the days of the Patriarchs, was a powerful city that maintained a high standard of living. Joshua defeated the Canaanites but Jerusalem did not fall into the hands of the Israelites until the 10th century BC, when King David led his people to victory over the Jebusites and established the first capital of the united Tribes of Israel at the heart of the Israelite settlement.

David built his palace here, fortified the city, and , most importantly, by locating the Ark of the Covenant within its walls, he bestowed upon his new capital the exalted status of G-od’s chosen place. David’s son Solomon reinforced this policy by building his great temple to the north of the city on Mount Moriah.

In 586 BC, the City of David was totally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. Ancient Jerusalem was burned, the First Temple was obliterated, and the Jewish people were taken into Babylonian exile for 70 years.

The Water System

The Canaanite Conduit

The Canaanite tunnel (tunnel 2) was apparently dug at the same time that the fortifications of the city were established during the Middle Bronze Age 2 Period (18th Century BCE). The waters of the southern spring were channeled through this canal for agricultural purposes.

Warren’s Shaft

In 1867 the archeologist and treasure hunter Captain Charles Warren uncovered a secret access tunnel that led from the city deep into the mountain, meeting a 13-meter shaft descending to the Gihon Spring. Warren claimed this shaft was the place of the Biblical “pipe” used in King David’s capture of the city, and was used by the ancient Jerusalemites to draw their water from the Gihon Spring.

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

Towards the end of the 8th century BC, the Bible contains a vivid acount of King Hezekiah miraculous deliverance from the infamous Sennacherib, describing Hezekiah’s preparations for the inevitable onslaught of the mighty Assyrian army. Hezekiah hewed a long tunnel to direct the water from Gihon spring into the Shiloach pool, which was now included within the city walls.

An Iron Age II - Water Jug

The Shiloach Pool

The small Shiloach Pool, to which the waters of the Gihon flow today, is part of a pool from the Byzantine Era. Fragments of pillars which can be seen today in the pool, appear to be remains of the Shiloach Church that was built in this location.

During the Second Temple Era the waters continued to flow south and were collected in an additional, larger pool. During the time of the Second Temple this pool was about three dunum in size and had wide, central roads leading to it. Archeologists believe that this pool was built upon an older pool dating back to the First Temple Period. It is to this pool that King Hezekiah diverted the waters of the Gihon.

Old City gates

dgrushko — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:46:13 +0000

The current walls of Jerusalem Old City were built in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificent. The walls stretch for approximately 4.5 kilometres, (2.8 miles), and rise to a height of 5–15 metres, (16–49 feet), with a thickness of 3 metres, (10 feet). Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 11 gates, seven of which are presently open. Until 1887, each gate was closed before sunset and opened at sunrise.

Jaffa Gate

Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil), constructed – 1530-40. The Jaffa Gate is so named because it is the portal for Jaffa Road, the precursor to the modern highway to the ancient port of Jaffa and the Mediterranean coastal plain.

Next to Jaffa Gate is a breach in the wall that was opened to accommodate the entourage of the German emperor, Wilhelm II, in 1898.

The Tower of David (near Jaffa Gate)

Running along the high city walls, south of the Jaffa Gate is the Citadel of Jerusalem, usually (but mistakenly) called the “Tower of David,” a Jerusalem landmark that dates back to antiquity. The current tower was built during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

Zion Gate

Zion Gate (Bab El-Nabi Da’oud), constructed - 1540. Located in the south of the Old City and facing towards Mount Zion and Hebron, it leads to the Armenian and Jewish Quarters. Zion Gate is also known as David’s Gate, because Mount Zion is believed by some to be the burial place of King David.

In 1948, during the Israeli War of Independence, the Palmach unsuccessfully battled for control of the Jewish Quarter at the entrance of the Zion gate. This left the stones surrounding the gate pockmarked by weapons fire and riddled with bullet holes which can still be seen today.

Dung Gate

Dung Gate (Sha’ar HaAshpot, Bab al-Maghariba, Gate of Silwan, Mograbi Gate) constructed – 1538-40, is situated near the southeast corner of the old city, southwest of the Temple Mount. It was originally much smaller, but was enlarged in 1952, after the Old City came under Jordanian control in 1948. The name Sha’ar Ha’ashpot appears in the Book of Jeremiah. It is probably named after the residue that was taken from the Jewish Temple into the Valley of Hinnom, where it was burned. This ancient “Dung Gate” may not have been in the same location as the modern gate.

Lion’s Gate

Lion’s Gate (Bab Sittna Maryam, St. Stephen’s Gate , Sheep Gate) constructed – 1538-9 , Located in the east wall, the entrance marks the beginning of the traditional Christian observance of the last walk of Jesus from prison to execution, the Via Dolorosa. Near the gate’s crest are four figures of lions, two on the left and two on the right. Legend has it that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent placed the figures there because he believed that if he did not construct a wall around Jerusalem he would be killed by lions.

Israeli paratroops from the 55th Paratroop Brigade came through this gate during the Six-Day War of 1967 and unfurled the Israeli flag above the Temple Mount.

Herod’s Gate

Herod’s Gate (Bab-a-Sahairad, Sha’ar HaPerachim, Sha’ar Hordos, Sheep Gate) unknown when constructed, located in the East of northern wall.

Damascus Gate

Damascus Gate (Sha’ar Shkhem, Bab al-Amoud, Nablus Gate) constructed – 1537, located in the middle of the northern wall. The original gate was presumably built in Second Temple times. The Romans built a new gate at the time of Hadrian, in the second century AD. In front of the gate stood a Roman victory column, shown on the Madaba Map, thus giving the gate its name in Arabic to this day, Bab el-Amud, The Column Gate. The column has never been found, but the Roman gate can be seen today, due to excavations made during the British mandate. This was the northern entrance gate to the city at the time of the Crusades.

New Gate

New gate (Al-Bab al-Jedid) is the newest gate in Jerusalem’s Old City Walls, built in 1898 to provide direct access to the Christian Quarter for the visit of the German Emperor William II. Located in the northwestern part of the wall.

The Sealed Gates

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate, as it is called in Christian literature. Jews used to pray for mercy at the gate, hence the name Sha’ar Harachamim, the Gate of Mercy. In Arabic, it is known as the Gate of Eternal Life. In ancient times, the gate was known as the Beautiful Gate. It was probably built in the 520s AD, as part of Justinian I’s building program in Jerusalem, on top of the ruins of an earlier gate in the wall. An alternate theory holds that it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad khalifs. The gate is located in the middle of the eastern side of the Temple Mount. According to the Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed off the Golden Gate in 1541, allegedly to prevent the Messiah’s entrance.

Huldah Gates

The Huldah Gates are the two sets of now-blocked gates in the south wall of the Temple Mount, which is also one of Jerusalem’s Old City walls. The western set is a double arched gate (the double gate), and the eastern is a triple arched gate (the triple gate). Each arch of the double gate led into an aisle of a passageway leading from the gate into the Mount, and to steps leading to the Mount’s surface. The Gates was constructed By Herod the Great as Gates to the Temple Mount, only the base of the gate is originally from the second Temple.

Pool of Bethesda

dgrushko — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:12:15 +0000

Bethesda was originally the name of a pool in Jerusalem, on the path of the Beth Zeta Valley. The pool was first dug out during the 8th Century BC and was called the Upper Pool, a second pool, known as the Washers’ Pool, was dug during the third century BC by Simon the High Priest. These pools were used to wash the sheep prior to their sacrifice in the Temple.

Archaeological excavations begun in the 19th century have brought to light remains of the two pools, Jewish baths, pagan shrine of Roman epoch, Byzantine basilica of St. Mary, Crusader monuments.

A Byzantine Oil-Lamp

A Byzantine Coin

Zedekiah’s Cave

dgrushko — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:21:29 +0000

The entrance to Zedekiah’s Cave - is just beneath the Old City wall, between the Damascus and Herod Gates. The cave is the remnant of the biggest quarry in Jerusalem.

It is actually a five-acre cave that runs the length of five city blocks under the Moslem quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is variously called Solomon’s Cave, Suleiman’s Cave, Zedekiah’s Cave, Korah’s Cave .

Stone Chisel

Herodian Quarter

dgrushko — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:50:57 +0000

The Herodian Quarter was discovered by archeologist when the Jewish Quarter was rebuilt following the Six Day War. The Wohl Archaeological Museum preserves in situ the extraordinary discoveries that revealed remains of magnificent buildings from the time of the Herodian dynasty period 37 B.C. till 70 A.D.
The area covers some 2,700 square meters of the Upper City of Jerusalem and consists of six houses, built close together on a hillside, facing the Temple Mount, attesting to the wealth of their owners.
The exhibition focuses on three of those houses: the Western House, the Middle House and the House of Measurements. Here, wealthy families of the Jerusalem aristocracy and priesthood used to live in their fine homes.

The inhabitants designed their homes meticulously in the Greco-Roman style. The archeological remains are mainly from the cellars of these house which were evidently two stories in height.

The western building

Herodian Jug

Roman Cosmetics Tools

Herodian Oil-Lamp

Herod the Great – 8 Prutot