The Temple Mount in the Washington Post

Yesterday, The Washington Post published an article on the Temple Mount.

Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary. Jews and Christians call it the Temple Mount. Built atop Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, this 36-acre site is the place where seminal events in Islam, Judaism and Christianity are said to have taken place, and it has been a flash point of conflict for millenniums. Many aspects of its meaning and history are still disputed by religious and political leaders, scholars, and even archaeologists.

Several cycles of building and destruction have shaped what is on this hilltop today.

These cycles of the Development of the Temple Mount are shown in the five sketches below the main site drawing:

7 thoughts on “The Temple Mount in the Washington Post”

  1. Dr. Ritmeyer,

    Why are there no photos of the inside of the Triple Gate available? There are dozens of images- photos and artists renderings- of the Double Gate and its domes but nothing relating to the Triple Gate. Any comment, please.

    Do you think that there were domes (9?) in the anteroom of the Triple Gate?

    One last question. Why is there the attic-Ionic molding on the Triple Gate jam and not on the Double Gate jam?
    Thank you,

  2. Here’s what I think happened. Whoever made the gates, destroyed several original Herodian master ashlars, thinking that he could make a new triple-passageway into the Temple mount, right here. When he broke through the wall, he was forced to make a higher floor because of the bedrock he encountered on the other side. Then slowly working his triple-passageway inward, he encountered even higher bedrock after about 20 meters and had to cut short the rightmost passageway. After about 50 meters it happened again, and he had to cut short the middle passageway to. Thus ending up with only one not so good passageway going all the way to the Temple mount, and thus blocked up the triple gates himself. Later someone else connected this triple-passageway with the Stables, by making a small narrow passage between the two. His reason for starting his triple-gates at this low level in Herod’s wall, was that the Stables, further to the east, are at this low-level in the Temple mount. I estimate that, floor to top of the window is about 3,5 meter on the inside, and about 5 meter on the outside, where the window is above the gate

    http://oi66.tinypic.com/11jag5y.jpg

  3. Peter,
    When I visited and measured the inside of the Triple Gate, the groundlevel was the same as the outside. The floor could have been made higher when this area was converted into a mosque.

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