The four gates that Yosef ben Matityahu describes in his writings on the Western Wall, include the two gates located above the interchanges of the Robinson’s Arch and Wilson’s Arch that led directly to the level of the Temple Mount. In contrast, the other two gates which are Barclay’s Gate and Warren’s Gate, led below the ground level of the Temple Mount and through them it was possible to ascend to the Temple Mount itself.
Wilson’s Arch is a stone arch located on the north side of the Western Wall Plaza. It is the easternmost arch in a sequence of 15 arches that carried a bridge, which led from the Upper City Hill in the west to the Temple Mount in the east while crossing the central valley. I mentioned 15 arches, some are listing a lower number, about 12-13 arches, yet all the answers are correct and I will not go into the reasons for the different number of arches listed by different archeologists.
The arch was first identified in the mid-19th century by Titus Tobler, a Swiss-born physician and explorer of the Land of Israel, but it was first scientifically documented in 1865 by Charles Wilson, after whom the arch is named. Who was Charles Wilson – He was an officer in the British Royal Army, served in the Royal Corps of Engineers as a land surveyor, and while serving in the country, he began his investigations as an archaeologist. He was a pioneer of archaeological research in the Land of Israel. Another researcher is General Sir Charles Warren, one of the first archaeologists in Jerusalem who was sent to the country by the British Fund for the Exploration of the Land of Israel with the aim of finding archaeological discoveries during the second half of the 19th century. After the discoveries of Charles Wilson, Charles Warren dug two test shafts under the arch. His findings were many and we will see some of them later in our tour.
Wilson’s Arch rests on its eastern side against the Western Wall, and on its western side it was founded on a wide pillar. The length of the arch from north to south: 15 meters. Its width, that is, its diameter is 13 meters and its height is equal to the radius of the arch, 6.5 meters. The integration of Wilson’s Arch into the courses of the Western Wall is simply perfect. The courses of the arch are similar in size and shape to the courses of the Western Wall, and where the arch emerges from the Western Wall, stones that are common to the Wall and the arch were incorporated.
All of the stones of the arch visible on its western side above the prayer area have margins typical of Herodian construction. The integration of the arch into the western pillar is identical to its integration into the Western Wall. These indicate that Wilson’s Arch was built at the same time as the Herodian Western Wall and the western pillar.
Wilson’s Arch is built of 23 courses of rectangular stones, the same size as the stones of the Western Wall. The faces of the stones are smoothed and many of them have four-sided edges. The appearance of the arch, the method of its construction, its perfect integration into the Western Wall, and archaeological findings from past excavations all support the conclusion that the current arch was built during the Second Temple period. However, there are different opinions regarding the southern half, and more on that later.
To understand more about the structure of the arch and the Great Bridge, let’s go down to the Western Wall Tunnels……
As I mentioned, Wilson’s Arch is the easternmost in a sequence of about 15 arches that carried a bridge for 100 meters to Hagai Street in the west. Above the Great Bridge, a meter above the ceiling above us, is today the eastern part of Chain (Shalshelet) Street leading to the Chain Gate at the Western Wall.
The structure of the Great Bridge includes several architectural units that were built one after the other during the Second Temple period and the late Roman period. For what purpose was the bridge built? There are several reasons, each of which is sufficient on its own, let alone combined. It is important to first consider the topography of the city. Two hills with a valley between them. The eastern hill along the Ophel, the Temple Mount and north to the Muslim Quarter. The western hill includes Mount Zion and north to it. Between them is a valley that begins at the Nablus Gate (also called Damascus Gate) and goes south. The valley is 100 meters wide. Archaeological findings indicate that the city’s wealthiest people lived on the western hill.
The great bridge connected the western hill to the Temple Mount, but for what purpose? After the Hasmoneans removed the Seleucids from the Temple and purified it, the emphasis on purity and the entire issue of impurity laws was significantly strengthened. In general, the mikvahs, which are purification baths began during the Hasmonean period, and these required running water, in addition to the increase in pilgrims and visitors to Jerusalem during the Hasmonean period, which increased the city’s water consumption. Most scholars claim that the Hasmoneans built the bridge in its first phase to transfer the lower aqueduct from Solomon’s Pools in the Bethlehem area over it to the temple mount. Herod, later expanded the bridge, which is why pairs of arches of slightly different lengths are seen across the bridge, with the northern arch dating from the Hasmonean period and the southern arch from Herod’s period. Their total width is about 11 meters.
At the western end of the Great Bridge, an arch was built common to both rows of arches, and it is located above Hagai Street, which is currently built along the route of the Roman eastern cardo street from the time of Aelia Capitolina. I recommend watching the Damascus Gate video on this channel. It describes the street infrastructure built by Hadrian.
The arch above Hagai Streetsurrounds the Roman eastern cardo and is aligned with it. The cardo, according to recent excavations in the Western Wall Plaza, was paved in the first third of the second century during the reign of Hadrian. If so, then the arch and the completion of the Great Bridge occurred at the earliest during the reign of Hadrian.
At the top of the great bridge, a wide street was paved at that time that led to the Temple Mount. This street is commonly identified with the Decumanus from the time of Aelia Capitolina, the Roman street that ran from Jaffa Gate toward the Temple Mount along the route of David and Chain Streets today.
We will move on to the area under Wilson’s Arch.
In excavations conducted in recent years in the southern part of the western pier, additional courses and shop openings were uncovered. Warren did indeed describe a cell on the southern side of the pier that opened eastward onto the street that ran along the western wall of the Temple Mount. The cell is similar to the four cells integrated into the Robinson’s Arch, which are commonly seen as shops. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Wilson’s Arch pillar, also incorporated four shop cells, since the it is similar in size to the Robinson’s Arch.
However, the separation in the construction here can be seen very clearly by the seam line. On the right. On the northern side. The stones to the right are smaller, Herodians, and there is one opening. The width of the arch in Herod’s time was about 7.5 meters. On the south side, in a later period, and there is disagreement as to whether this was an addition in the late Second Temple period or in the late Roman period, the pillar and the arch were expanded to double their width. The stones used in the expansion are uncut, stones that are not perfect.
We are now located below the visible part of Wilson’s Arch. The arch was not destroyed in the Great Revolt which took place during the years 67-70, but remained intact: probably because of the use made of it by the Romans after the destruction and during the time of Aelia Capitolina – this is the name given by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to Jerusalem somewhere between 130 and 136, that is, shortly before or immediately after the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
There is no archaeological evidence for the destruction of the arch during the Great Revolt. This is in contrast to the destruction and burning that has been discovered in the residential are in the Upper City.
It is important for me to emphasize again about the date of construction of Wilson’s Arch. I have gone through many articles, including special measurements of the remains of cement that were used to glue the arch stones together. Sending seeds found between the large arch stones, for dating according to carbon-14 testing and I will not elaborate further. While there is consensus regarding the first phase in which an arch with a width of 7.5 meters was built by Herod, there is no consensus regarding the widening of the arch, whether it was carried out during the time of the Roman governors, in the late Second Temple period or after the destruction of the temple.
There is no doubt that there was a gate in the Western Wall above Wilson’s Arch. The width of Wilson’s Arch is 15 meters, exactly the same as the width of Robinson’s Arch. Like Robinson’s Arch, there may have been a single, double, or triple gate here. However, regarding this gate, it is not known for certain where did it lead to? It is also not known who the interchange system and the gate were intended to serve. It is clear, that deep thought and great effort were invested in the planning and construction of the interchanges and gates in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period in order to ensure comfort and order for the thousands of pilgrims to Jerusalem and the Temple.
And finally, as usual, a question for you. In what period did settlement begin on the Western Hill, the hill west of the Temple Mount? The answer will appear at the end of the video.
