Project no.2
The Temple Rebuilt
​
The great temple constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed.
"We have no continuous city but seek one to come." Hebrews 13:14
The First Temple was constructed in Jerusalem by Solomon in 957BC but was destroyed in 586BC by Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylonia.
Cyrus II of Persia issued an order in 538BC allowing exiled Jews to return and rebuild the Temple.
A rebuilding of that Second Temple was begun in 20BC by Herod the Great. The area of the Temple Mount was doubled and surrounded by a wall with gates. The Temple was raised and enlarged. The Temple was again the centre of Israelite life. It was not only the focus of religious ritual but also the repository of the Holy Scriptures and the meeting place of the Sanhedrin, the highest court of Jewish law during the Roman period. The rebellion against Rome that began in AD66 soon focused on the Temple and effectively ended with the Temple’s destruction in AD70.
All that remains of the Second Temple is the Wailing Wall, which continues to be the focus of Jewish aspirations and pilgrimage.
Open gates
Gate of the Tribes NE
Gate of Remission N
Gate of Darkness N
Gate of Bani Ghanim NW
Gate of the Seraglio or Palace (closed) W
Council Gate N
Iron Gate W
Cotton Merchants' Gate ?
Ablution Gate W
Tranquility Gate W
Chain Gate W
Gate of the Moors W
Sealed gates
Golden Gate E
Warren's Gate W
Barclay's Gate (under Morrocan or Moors Gate) W
Huldah Gates (double and triple) S
Single Gate S
Gate of the Funerals or of al-Buraq E