Jerusalem Archives - Page 162 of 199

Jerusalem’s Old City Wall Being Repaired

First-time tourists excited to see the walls of the Old City may be a bit disappointed in 2010. Scaffolding has been erected along sections of the western and southern walls in an effort to restore the Turkish wall built in 1540. From Haaretz:

Three years ago a stone from the Old City wall in Jerusalem fell into a church school yard next door. Fears that the wall was crumbling spawned a complex project to restore its stones while preserving traces of history left by inscriptions, shells and animals.
It turned out later that the stone had fallen from a Jordanian support column rather than the Ottoman wall. But by then the NIS 15 million renovation project was already on its way.
[…]
As elsewhere in the world, Jerusalem’s wall consists of two stone walls with earth in between. The greatest threat is from water penetrating the stone layers, causing the stones to shift and topple. The renovators must seal the cracks without changing the wall’s facade. In some cases they have no choice but to replace a flawed stone at the cost of changing its original color or appearance.
“We don’t clean the stones completely,” says Mashiah. “The wall doesn’t have to look like a new building. It should remain ancient.”
[…]
The wall’s renovation is due to be completed in about a year, except for the section surrounding the Temple Mount, where the Muslim Waqf trust refused to allow restoration work. The owners of various sections of the interior wall also refused the renovators access.
The Zion Gate, ravaged by thousands of shells in the War of Independence and by exhaust fumes and countless car collisions, has been painstakingly renovated. The memorial stone for the Harel Brigade combatants, which blocked one of the gate’s lattices, has been moved.

Read the full story here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Jaffa Gate under renovation, January 2010

Southern wall of Old City under renovation, January 2010

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Decumanus Discovered in Jerusalem

Archaeologists revealed today that they have discovered portions of the main east-west street in Jerusalem during the Byzantine period. Known in Latin as the Decumanus, this main thoroughfare went from the area of today’s Jaffa Gate to the center of the city. Archaeologists uncovered large sections of the Cardo, Jerusalem’s north-south street, in the 1970s, but this is the first time that the Decumanus has been identified.

The Decumanus is depicted on the Medeba Map, a mosaic depiction of the land of Israel dating to A.D. 580. (See yesterday’s post for a photo.) According to the map, the Decumanus was neither as wide nor as long as the Cardo. The Byzantine-period street was discovered 13 feet (4.5 m) below present ground level and was paved with large flagstones.

The discovery was made during renovation work on the street running through Jaffa Gate (see area photograph here). Because of the high traffic volume, excavations have never been carried out in this area.

For more information, see the press release of the Israel Antiquities Authority (temporary link). Four high-resolution photos are also available(direct link here): (1) a view of the area of the street, taken on Feb 7; (2) a close-up view of the flagstones; (3) a large cistern discovered underneath the street; (4) the Medeba Map, with the Decumanus outlined in red. Haaretz has a brief article, and the other news outlets will have stories posted later in the day.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Jaffa Gate on the Medeba Map

In the center of this photo is pictured the area of Jaffa Gate, as depicted on the 6th century mosaic map discovered in Medeba, Jordan. Recent discoveries in Jerusalem reportedly “confirm an ancient map of Jerusalem.” Tomorrow morning a press conference will be held at Jaffa Gate. Until then, you can try to guess what they found. I have my own prediction.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Hurva Synagogue Reconstruction, Jan 2010

The reconstruction of the Hurva Synagogue is progressing. These photos were taken last month. In the first photo, you can see the mountains of Jordan in the distance.

Old City with mountains of Transjordan, tb123109421

Hurva Synagogue from Herod’s tower (Citadel of David)

Hurvah synagogue under construction, tb010910256ddd

Hurva Synagogue from Jewish Quarter plaza

Hurva synagogue interior

For photos from January 2000 to November 2008, see this post.

Tagged Jerusalem

Western Wall Ramp Reconstruction Update

The collapsed ramp that leads to the Mughrabi Gate of the Temple Mount appears to be no closer to reconstruction. From Arutz-7:

Jordanian pressure is preventing the completion of a walkway to the Temple Mount next to the Western Wall (Kotel), according to Nadav Shragai, senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The Islamic Historical Society has filed suit in the Jerusalem District Court, demanding a halt to the work on widening the Kotel Plaza and the renovation of the Rambam (Mughrabim) Gate entrance to the Temple Mount. The court is awaiting a reply from the Prime Minister’s Office on the matter. […] The plan for renovating the walkway to the Rambam Gate has been approved, Shragai said, but the government is delaying its implementation. “At first they wanted the bridge to be suspended from support columns,” the veteran former journalist explained, “but environmental groups objected. In the end it was decided that the bridge would be placed on what remains of the [dirt] ramp, in order to avoid damage to houses in the Mughrabim neighborhood. This plan currently has the necessary approvals and all that is needed is a construction permit from the Kotel Heritage Fund which answers to the Prime Minister’s Office. For some reason, because of pressure from the Jordanian government, the government is not granting this permit.”

The full story is here. Collapsed ramp (center) and temporary wooden ramp (left). The Mughrabi Gate is just visible at the end of the temporary ramp.

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Jaffa Gate Excavations

One of the items on my list for this blog was some new photos of the renovations at Jaffa Gate. Tom Powers has beat me to it, however, and done a much better job. He has a number of high-resolution photographs, along with explanations of what you’re seeing (as best as can be determined by an outsider). I have heard through the grapevine that the archaeologists uncovered both ancient and modern aqueducts as well. This makes sense given the location of Jaffa Gate and the nearby presence of the Towers/Hezekiah’s Pool.

Read the post on his Tom’s new blog and subscribe to future posts using the RSS feed.

Jaffa Gate area with excavations underway
Photo taken January 3, 2010

Tagged Jerusalem