-
The Thick Wall and the Mikva’os by Wilson’s arch
In the post about Wilson’s arch, I have described a monumental building located next to it, called by Warren the Masonic Hall. After writing that post, I found more information about the hall, the thick wall next to it, and the Mikva’os behind the pier of Wilson’s arch. In the next few posts, I will redescribe…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 7 (Robinson’s arch)
At the southern corner of the Western wall, remains of an arch can be seen. In the times of the Beis Hamikdash, this arch supported a grand staircase which led up to the Har Habayis. It is mentioned by Josephus (Antiquities 15:11:5), who writes: Now in the western quarters of the enclosure of the temple there…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 6 (Barclay’s gate)
Around eighty meters (265 feet) away from the southern corner of the western wall, right by the southern end of the Ezras Nashim by the Kosel, a large lintel, with a blocked-up gate underneath, can be seen. The bottom of this lintel is 2398 ft. 5 in. (731 m) above sea-level. This seems to be…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis part 5 (The Kosel)
Around thirty meters to the south of Wilson’s arch is the Kosel Plaza, where we daven. This section is 58 meters long. In a previous post I have theorized that the reason we daven specifically here is because the inner part of this wall is from Shlomo Hamelech’s Har Habayis. (There are various sources (אלה מסעי עמוד…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 4 (Wilson’s arch)
Approximately 600 feet (180 meters) to the north of the southern corner of the western wall there is an arch. This arch is 14.65 meters (48 feet) wide and has a span of 12.80 meters (42 feet). Its crown reaches a height of 21 feet (6.43 meters). The arch springs out of the western wall at…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 3 (Warren’s gate)
Three-hundred and fifty-five meters to the north of the southern corner of the western wall, there is a gate going through a tunnel into Har Habayis, called now Warren’s gate. This gate is mentioned by Josephus, who says (Antiquities 15:11:5): Now in the western quarters of the enclosure of the temple there were four gates;…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 2 (the northern edge of the street)
The northernmost 79 meters of this wall are not in the same line as the rest of the wall, but projects around 2.5 meters outwards. Although you can say that was because of a tower that was there, this does not seem to be the case, being that this projection is 79 meters wide, way…
-
The Western Wall of the Har Habayis, part 1 (the street)
The western wall of Hurdus’s expansion of Har Habayis, is 485 meters long. This wall, as mentioned in an earlier post, is not perfectly aligned with the north-south-east-west axis, rather it is on a ten-degree angle from it. It had four gates (Josephus, antiquities 15:11:5), two of which led through tunnels to the top of Har Habayis,…
-
The Stones of the Har Habayis Walls
In the present-day walls of Har Habayis, there are two types of stones from the time of the Beis Hamikdash, one from the time of the first Beis Hamikdash, and one from the times of Hurdus. The stones are mostly between three and four feet tall (approximately one meter), and around five feet (1.5 meters)…
-
Sha’ar Harachamim
In the present-day east wall of the Har Habayis, around 200 feet to the north of the dome of the rock, is a sealed up double gate, called Sha’ar Harachamim-The Gate of Mercy. Through this gate, Moshiach is going to enter Yerushalayim. The Arabs put a cemetery right in front of it, and people…
Hashem said to Yechezkel, “Its reading in the Torah is as great as its building. Go and say it to them, and they will occupy themselves to read the form of it in the Torah. And in reward for its reading, that they occupy themselves to read about it, I count it for them as if they were occupied with the building of it.
(Tanchuma Tzav 14)