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ern hill which was separated from
the eastern hill or Zion by the Tyro–
poeon Valley]."
Since Warreo first suggested it,
this section in Josephus has been
commonly thought to mean that a
bridge, consisting of a series of
arches, spanned the Tyropoeon
(Cheesemakers) Valley, stretching
from the Temple Mount on one side
to the western hill on the other. This
theory was based on his discovery of
a huge pier opposite the remains of
"Robinson's Arch" which springs
from the southern end of the West–
ern Wall.
This pier was uncovered in its en–
tirety early in the process of the
present excavation. It was found to
be built in the excellent tradition for
which Herod is noted. The pier has
a length equal to that of the arch,
15.20
m. (49.9 ft.) and a width of
3.60 m.
(1
1.8 ft.) As the area to the
west of the pier was excavated, the
foundations of the other piers,
which would have been necessary to
support the assumed series of
arches, were searched for in vain.
Instead, a series of smaller piers
were found to extend southward, not
westward. These piers supported a
leve! platform immediately to the
west ofthe main pier. A staircase that
descended from it led to the main
road, which passed beneath "Robin–
son's Arch" tbrough the Tyropoeon
Valley to the lower city. Just to the
north ofthis complex, the remains of
a finely paved stairway were found.
This was the "ascent" mentioned by
Josephus that led to the upper city.
Tbere had been no bridge as Warren
had incorrectly assumed.
In this same description of the
Temple Mount, Josephus mentions
the Royal Stoa (Solomon's Porch in
the New Testament) wbich ran along
the entire southern edge of the
Temple Mount, "for it was impos–
sible it should reach any further." lt
consisted of four rows of columns
making three aisles; tbe fourth row of
columns was incorporated into the
southern wall on top ofthe platform.
PLAIN TRUTH September 1973
Josephus mentions that Corinthian
capitals topped the pillars, which
were 9 m. (29.5 ft.) high and so thick
that three men could barely reach
around each one. The middle aisle
was
13.7
m. (45 ft.) wide or one and
a halftimes wider than the side aisles
and twice as high- reaching 30.5 m.
(100 ft.). He further adds that this
colonnade was extravagantly deco–
rated with carvings and sculptures in
wood and stone.
In spite of Josephus' explicit eye–
witness report , most models of the
Royal Stoa have been shortened to
provide room for a gatehouse at
each end of the Southem Wall. Be–
cause the recent excavations have
demonstrated Josephus' almost
unerring accuracy, archaeologists
are currently revising their hypoth–
eses of a shortened, gatehoused
Royal Stoa.
The many ornamental archi–
tectural fragments, found where
they fell along the bases of the
Southern and Western Walls, attest
to the details of Josephus' descrip–
tion. Only pieces of floral and geo–
metric designs have been found.
This fact indicates that the second
commandment against graven im–
ages was strictly followed in the con–
struction of the Temple area. The
total absence of any animals or
human figures, which are so typical
of Roman architecture, proclaims
the independence of the Jews in
their special relationship with Rome
during the reigns of Herod and bis
successors.
Corinthian capitals (distinguished
by a bell-shaped capital richly em–
bellished with acanthus leaves) have
been found. Other building frag–
ments now show how the fourth row
ofpillars was built into the wall atop
the Temple Mount platform. It was
very similar to the wall surrounding
the Harem el-Khalil in Hebron.
That wall was also built by Herod to
surround the Cave of Machpelah,
the traditional burial place of the
patriarchs.
It
was under the pillared roofs of
the Royal Stoa that the sacrificial
animals were sold and Roman coins
exchanged (at exorbitant rates) for
coins without images. (See Matthew
21: 12-1
6 and parallel verses.) That
the entire area atop the Temple
Mount - including the Royal Stoa
- was considered holy and simply
referred to as "the temple" is
clearly shown by Acts 3:
1-11.
The Unexpected
One of the biggest surprises of the
excavations so far has been the un–
covering of the monumental steps
leading up .to the Western Huida
Gate ofthe Temple Mount from the
south. The Western Huida Gate or
"Double Gate" and the Eastern
Huida Gate or "Triple Gate" were
the main passageways up into and
down out of the Temple enclosure.
They were located on either side of
the middle of the Southern Wall.
The steps were carved out of the
bedrock and were paved over with
finely dressed, closely laid stones.
Sections of the paving near the bot–
tom and top are well preserved.
lt
appears that there were 30 steps in
all, each 64 meters wide (210
ft.).
The bottom three and the top three
were laid with narrow stones, and
the rest in between, alternately, !lad
narrow and broad steps - the nar–
row being about
.33
m. , and the
broad,
1.00
m. respectively (about
one foot and three feet respectively).
They rose 6.50 m. (21.3 ft.) - that
is. about 8 inches per step - to the
"Double Gate" from the broad,
leve! plaza south of the Temple
Mount that served as a publ ic gath–
ering place.
There was a smaller series of steps
in front of t.1e eastern "Triple Gate"
as well. Very little is preserved ex–
cept for just a few stones of paving
on top of a stone arch, over a sub–
terranean chamber, on which the
steps had been attached. Between
these two flights of steps were rooms
containing pools of water, probably
for ritual immersion and physical
purification of the worshippers be–
fore entering the Temple.
Previously overlooked by schol-
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