Jerusalem - Ophel Archeological Park

To the south and southeast of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, below the south wall of the Temple precinct, is the Ophel Archeological Park, an area in which Israeli archaeologists have made important discoveries since 1968. A little to the south of the Western Wall is Robinson's Arch (so called after its American discoverer), which was not, as originally thought, an arch carrying an access route to the Temple, like Wilson's Arch, but rather part of a flight of steps leading up to the Temple platform. In 1971 a 2m/6.5ft high stone from the southwest corner of the Temple platform was found near here, 35m/115ft below the top of the enclosure wall, from which it had presumably tumbled during the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This corner-stone, which is mentioned by Flavius Josephus, has a recess in which it is thought the priest stood to proclaim the beginning and end of the Sabbath. In the eastern part of the Archeological Park can be seen the steps leading up to the Huldah Gates, from which there was access, under Herod's Stoa Basilike, to the Temple platform. In the southern part of the area the remains of a two-story palace covering an area of some 1,000sq.m/1,075sq.yd were discovered in 1975. It has been identified as the palace of Queen Helen of Adiabene (in northern Mesopotamia), who became a convert to the Jewish faith around A.D. 50 and came to live in Jerusalem.

From here we return to the open space in front of the Western Wall and take a narrow street at the northeast corner which runs into Chain Street. Turning left along this, we cross Khan ez-Zeit Street and continue along David Street, a busy thoroughfare lined by shops and cafes, to return to the Jaffa Gate. (An alternative possibility is to turn right into Khan ez-Zeit Street, which runs north to the Damascus Gate.)