Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform
The retaining walls of Herod's expanded Temple enclosure
Found 1838 — Edward Robinson (1838 survey); Charles Warren's shafts (1867–70); Benjamin Mazar's excavations (1968–78); Western Wall Tunnels (Dan Bahat, 1980s onward)
Where Temple Mount (Har HaBayit), Old City, Jerusalem (Israel)
Dates from c. 20 BCE–64 CE · Early Roman (Herodian) · Herod's rebuilding of the Temple; Yeshua's visits
Now at In place; Western Wall Plaza, Western Wall Tunnels and the Davidson Center Archaeological Park
How Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform was found
Never lost, but its Herodian date and full scale were established by 19th-century survey and by Mazar's excavation of the southern and western walls after 1967. The stones show the drafted margins typical of Herod's masons; the largest, in the Western Wall Tunnel, weighs over 500 tons.
What it is
Herod doubled the Temple platform to about 14.4 hectares by building massive retaining walls of dressed limestone blocks with smooth 'Herodian margins'. The Western Wall visible today is a 57-meter stretch of this wall; another 485 meters run underground and inside buildings.
Why it matters for the Bible
This is the Temple the disciples admired and Yeshua said would be thrown down. A 2011 find of coins under the wall's foundation (Reich and Shukron) showed part of the wall was finished after Herod's death, matching John 2:20's 'forty-six years' of building and Josephus' note that work continued to 64 CE.
The Hebrew word: Har ha-BAH-yit
הַר הַבַּיִת
הַר הַבַּיִת is pronounced Har ha-BAH-yit and means the Temple Mount ('mountain of the House') (Strong's H2022 + H1004).
People this discovery connects to
- Herod the Great — הוֹרְדוֹס (Hor-DOS) — Greek Herodes
Places
- Temple Mount — הַר הַבַּיִת (Har ha-BAH-yit) — mountain of the House
Events
Herod's rebuilding of the Second Temple · Yeshua's prophecy of the Temple's destruction · Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE
Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform in Scripture
1 Kings 6:3 First mention of Temple in Scripture.
Mark 13:1-2 'What wonderful stones!' — the disciples marvel at the very masonry visible today.
John 2:20 'Forty-six years this temple has been under construction' — the long building program confirmed by coins under the wall.
Questions people ask
What is Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform?
Herod doubled the Temple platform to about 14.4 hectares by building massive retaining walls of dressed limestone blocks with smooth 'Herodian margins'. The Western Wall visible today is a 57-meter stretch of this wall; another 485 meters run underground and inside buildings.
When was Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform discovered?
It was found in 1838 by Edward Robinson (1838 survey); Charles Warren's shafts (1867–70); Benjamin Mazar's excavations (1968–78); Western Wall Tunnels (Dan Bahat, 1980s onward), at Temple Mount (Har HaBayit), Old City, Jerusalem.
Where is Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform today?
In place; Western Wall Plaza, Western Wall Tunnels and the Davidson Center Archaeological Park.
Which Bible verses does Herodian Western Wall and Temple Mount Platform relate to?
1 Kings 6:3, Mark 13:1-2, John 2:20.
Related discoveries
- מְצוּדָהMasadaHerod's cliff-top palace-fortress and the last stand of the Jewish revolt in 73/74 CE
- בֵּית הַמִּשְׁפָּטHerod's Jerusalem Palace and the Kishle ExcavationThe western-hill palace that most scholars now identify as Pilate's praetorium
- אַרְמוֹןHerod's Winter Palaces at JerichoThree palace complexes by Wadi Qelt, where Herod died and near where Yeshua met Zacchaeus
- מֶלֶךְHerodium and Herod's TombHerod's artificial mountain palace-fortress and the mausoleum found in 2007
- תְּקִיעָהTrumpeting Place Inscription'To the place of trumpeting…' — a stone from the Temple's southwest corner tower
- שַׁעַרRobinson's Arch and Wilson's ArchHerodian bridge and stairway arches that carried worshippers onto the Temple Mount
Sources
- Mazar, The Mountain of the Lord (1975); Bahat, The Jerusalem Western Wall Tunnel (2013)
- Wikipedia: Western Wall
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