Western Wall
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Most of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, which was about 485 m. long, is hidden by the buildings adjoining it. Until June 1967 the accessible portion of the wall was no longer than 28 m. In front of it ran a stone-paved alley 3.5 m wide bordered on its west by a slum area. The Wall aboveground consisted of 24 rows of stones of different dressing and age, reaching a total height of 18 m. with 6 m. above the level of the Temple Mount. In 1867 excavations revealed that 19 more rows lay buried underground, the lowest being sunk into the natural rock of the Tyropoeon Valley. In 1968 the ground in front of the Wall was excavated to reveal two of the buried rows of stone, and the Wall then consisted of seven layers of huge, marginally dressed ("Herodian") stones from the Second Temple, above which are four layers of smaller, plainly dressed stones from the Roman or Byzantine periods. The upper stones were constructed after the Moslem conquest. Jewish travelers over the centuries used to marvel the immense dimensions of the lower stones - average height 1 m and length 3 m, but some as long as 12 m. and weighing over 100 tons - and believed they were part of Solomon's Temple. They were probably quarried at the Cave of Zedkiah (near the Damascus Gate). In order to withstand the soil pressure of the filling behind the Wall, the rows were laid in a terraced manner, each row being set back a few centimeters relative to the one beneath it. The Wall thus slants slightly eastward. This factor, the weight of the stones, and the accuracy of the cutting account for the unusual stability of the Wall. The underground tunnel starting at the north-west of the prayer plaza passes close to the part of the Western Wall that is hidden by the buildings. It goes through a system of vaulted areas and water cisterns. About 350 m. of the Wall have been uncovered, up to the northern edge, which is the north-western corner of the Temple Mount. In a tunnel the largest stones of the Wall were found, including a giant stone about 60 m long, 3 m. high and 4 m. wide, and weighing approximately 400 tons.
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