The Southern Wall of the Temple Mount and Its Corners: Past, Present and Future

The Temple Mount compound (known in Arabic as the Haram as-Sarīf), situated on the east side of the Old City of urban Jerusalem, is a majestic and holy site that has been venerated by millions for more than two thousand years. The compound’s interior has been out of bounds to Western archaeologists for over a century, and modern researchers have therefore concentrated their efforts on the massive ancient stone walls that surround it.

The third volume in the Ancient Jerusalem Publication series, The Southern Wall of the Temple Mount and Its Corners: Past, Present and Future concentrates on the southern retaining wall of the Herodian Temple Mount in Jerusalem, its two corners, and Robinson’s Arch on the southern edge of the Western Wall. It presents the final reports of three excavations carried out adjacent to the wall and one under Robinson’s Arch. Among the many new interpretations, the excavators present intriguing theories regarding the engineering of an ancient ramp for herding sacrificial animals up to the Temple Mount and a new reading of an Isaiah 66:14 graffito. The volume devotes a large section to conservation projects carried out in order to understand the problems causing the deterioration of the stones in the southern part of the Western Wall and find solutions to protect and preserve them. The volume also presents details of a major ground penetrating radar examination of this stretch of the Western Wall.

Yuval Baruch is head of the Archaeology Division at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Ronny Reich is Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology at the University of Haifa.

Moran Hagbi is a field and research archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Joe Uziel is head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority.