Jerusalem: Southern Wall Excavations

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Jerusalem: Southern Wall Excavations Region: Hill Country of Judah Site Summary: The Southern Wall Excavations is located within the Old City of Jerusalem in the Jewish Quarter. It is an area known for its extensive archaeological discoveries, revealing the 1st century AD ruins at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount as well as the area directly south of the Temple. The SW corner of the Temple Mount was probably where Jesus was tempted (Mt. 4:5-7). Today what was uncovered at this corner was a 1st Century street (more than 200 feet of a 30 foot wide walkway) and dozens of Temple stones toppled by the Romans in 70 AD. Archaeologically, Benjamin Mazar excavated this area in 1986. Digging continues to this present day primarily by Elat Mazar, his granddaughter. Biblical references • Matthew 4:5-7; 21:12-17,23-27; 22:1-2 • Mark 13:1-2 • Luke 2:22-52,18:10-14,21:5 • John 2:19; 7:14-52; 10:23 • Acts 3:11,5:12 Biblical characters connected with this site: • Jesus & His disciples, Simeon, Anna, Pharisees, Temple leaders What is there to see & experience here? • At the SW corner of the Temple, you can see a 200 foot section of a Roman 1st Century street, dozens of massive stones lying on this street (these were toppled by the Romans in 70 AD at the destruction of the Temple), what is left of Robinson’s Arch located high on the western wall, miqvot (ritual baths), and ancient shops. • On the southern side of the Temple, you can see 1st century steps that would have led into the Temple, many more miqvot, an portions of the Ophel (OT ruins from Nehemiah’s day). Treasure thought & personal “take away” • For sure, Herod’s Temple was a magnificent building! Even the disciples were impressed of its beauty. Jesus taught often in the Temple that once stood tall. When is the last time you gazed at the beauty of Christ and His amazing grace? .

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Reconstructing Herod’s Temple Mount in Jerusalem By Kathleen RitmeyerLeen Ritmeyer Herod the Great—master builder! Despite his crimes and excesses, no one can doubt his prowess as a builder. One of his most imposing achievements was in Jerusalem. To feed his passion for grandeur, to immortalize his name and to attempt to win the loyalty of his sometimes restive Jewish subjects, Herod rebuilt the Temple (1 on the reconstruction drawing) in lavish fashion. But first he extended the existing platform—the Temple Mount—on which it was built, doubling its size. Herod ruled from 37 to 4 B.C. Scarcely a generation after the completion of this unparalleled building project,a the Romans ploughed the Temple Mount and built a temple to Jupiter on the site. Not a trace of Herod’s Temple was left. The mighty retaining walls of the Temple Mount, however, were deliberately left lying in ruins throughout the Roman (70–324 A.D.) and Byzantine (324–640 A.D.) periods—testimony to the destruction of the Jewish state. The Islamic period (640–1099) brought further eradication of Herod’s glory. Although the Omayyad caliphs (whose dynasty lasted from 633 to 750) repaired a large breach in the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the entire area of the Mount and its immediate surroundings was covered by an extensive new religio-political complex, built in part from Herodian ashlars that the Romans had toppled. Still later, the Crusaders (1099–1291) erected a city wall in the south that required blocking up the southern gates to the Temple Mount.
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