The Struthion Pool , effectually translated from the Greek as 'Sparrow Pool' ( Aramaic : אשווח צפרא ) is a large cuboid cistern beneath the Convent of the Sisters of Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem , built by Herod the Great in the first century BCE.
29-457: Lying at the foot of the rock scarp that once bore the Antonia Fortress , the pool is located at the northwestern corner of Jerusalem's Temple Mount . Measuring 52 by 14 metres, the pool is oriented from northwest to southeast, with its depth increasing from 4.5 metres in the north to 6 metres in the south. The pool's long eastern and western walls are not horizontal but also drop steadily to
58-457: A design for the plaza, but his idea quickly became the first of many to be torpedoed by planning boards. In 1970, landscape architect Shlomo Aronson proposed digging the eastern plaza down to the street level of the Second Temple period . In 1972, Moshe Safdie was hired to submit a proposal for the plaza. He followed Aronson's plan somewhat, with a series of terraced plazas descending to
87-563: A rock-cut passage that leads south for 34 meters before reaching the western wall of the Temple Mount enclosure. Blocked by the Herodian construction, this was an earlier aqueduct that once fed one of the cisterns underneath the Temple Mount enclosure itself. The aqueduct has been attributed to the Hasmoneans , though an earlier Ptolemaic association cannot be ruled out. With a floor 3 meters above
116-629: A toilet built up against the Western Wall, which had provoked the ire of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion during his visit a day earlier. A request had gone out to the inhabitants of the Moroccan Quarter to evacuate all 135 houses, which along with the Sheikh Eid Mosque were bulldozed to make way for the plaza. This was done ahead of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot , during which it was anticipated that many thousand Israelis would seek to visit
145-618: A tunnel running along the Western Wall to the vicinity of the pool prompted the Convent of the Sisters of Zion to seal off a part of the pool. An east-west wall now divides the Struthion pool into two parts, preventing access between them; one side is visible from the Western Wall tunnels , the other area is accessible from the Convent. As a result of 1971 extensions to the original Western Wall Tunnel,
174-472: A wall running along the center of the pool pierced by a series of arches. This division is the source of another name given to the Struthion, the Twin Pools . The two vaults were built to support a large flagstone pavement that covered the area above the pool. This pavement features shallow channels that carried runoff water into the pool as well as masonry manholes. Opinions differ as to the dating and origin of
203-672: Is a large public square situated adjacent to the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem . It was formed in 1967 as a result of the razing of the Mughrabi Quarter neighborhood at the very end of the Six-Day War . The Western Wall Plaza abuts the Western Wall , part of the ancient retaining wall erected by Herod the Great to surround and increase the surface area of
232-614: Is little doubt that it was constructed no later than the fashioning of the rock scarp above it, as the orientation of the pool conditioned a slight directional change in the rock podium's northeastern corner. It is therefore identified with the Struthius or Struthion ('sparrow') pool mentioned by Josephus in his description of Titus ' siege of the Antonia during the Great Revolt (70 CE): For there were now four great banks raised, one of which
261-593: The Jewish Quarter via the Yehuda HaLevi Stairs on its west side; and by the Jerusalem Archaeological Park and the exits towards Dung Gate on its south. The plaza measures 10,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 400,000 persons per day. The site was the location of the Moroccan Quarter , a neighbourhood founded by El Afdal , son of Saladin , in 1193. Access to the Western Wall
290-677: The Temple Mount . Apart from the Western Wall to the east, the plaza is bordered on its north side by the two Western Wall Foundation facilities (the Chain of Generations Center and the entrance to the Western Wall Tunnels ), Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh , and a passage to the Muslim Quarter to the Valley Street (HaGay or al-Wad) [ de ] ; by Aish HaTorah , Porat Yosef Yeshiva and
319-457: The forlorn hope , in which case the side of the ditch farthest from the breached wall and closest to the centre of the fortification is also called the counterscarp. These are tunnels or "galleries" that have been built behind the counterscarp wall inside the moat or ditch. Each gallery is pierced with loopholes for musketry , so that attacking forces that enter the moat can be directly fired upon. Counterscarp galleries were usually built into
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#1732856050755348-484: The 2nd century CE. This reasoning seems to be supported by Josephus' account of the siege of the Antonia, although whether Josephus had meant a ramp had been built in, over or opposite the middle of the pool remains unclear. The pool had remained in use down to modern times, and was identified as the Struthion by British engineer Sir Charles Warren during his exploration of Jerusalem between 1867 and 1870. His discovery of
377-583: The Convent via the pool, tourists had to return through the narrow tunnels to their starting point, creating logistical issues. Digging an alternative exit from the tunnel was proposed, but initially rejected on the grounds that any exit would be seen as an attempt by the Jewish authorities to stake a claim to ownership of the nearby land—part of the Muslim Quarter of the city. In 1996 Benjamin Netanyahu authorized
406-634: The Hasmonean water system became linked to the end of the Western Wall Tunnel. Running under Arab housing, the two were later opened as a tourist attraction. The attraction has a linear route, starting at the Western Wall Plaza , passing through the modern tunnels, then the ancient water system, and ending at the Struthion Pool. As the Sisters of Zion were not willing to allow tourists to exit into
435-701: The Temple Mount. In October 2020, archaeologists led by Dr. Barak Monnickendam-Givon from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of a 2,700-year-old two- shekel limestone weight. That places it in the First Temple period, during the Iron Age . According to the IAA, there were two parallel Egyptian symbols resembling a Greek gamma on the surface of the smooth round stone weighing precisely 23 grams (one shekel weighed 11.5 gr) and confirming
464-436: The angles of the ditch to give the widest field of fire. Occasionally, casemated artillery batteries were built into the counterscarp, but they were more commonly designed for infantry weapons only. The galleries were usually connected to the main body of the fort by a tunnel which passed under the ditch, or by a caponier , a gallery built across the floor of the ditch. Western Wall Plaza The Western Wall Plaza
493-415: The counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications the scarp and counterscarp may be encased in stone. In less permanent fortifications, the counterscarp may be lined with paling fence set at an angle so as to give no cover to the attackers but to make advancing and retreating more difficult. If an attacker succeeds in breaching a wall a coupure can be dug on the inside of the wall to hinder
522-428: The development of trade and commerce in ancient Jerusalem. The plaza is divided by a low wall of Jerusalem stone into two sections. A smaller section immediately adjacent to the Western Wall, and further divided into two sections by a mechitza for opposite genders, serves as an open-air synagogue. It has since become a popular place to hold bar mitzva ceremonies. The larger section immediately west and south of
551-511: The end of the 8th century BCE and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE . These included building remains, some preserved to a height of more than 2 meters. A large quantity of pottery was discovered, including numerous fertility and animal figurines and jar handles with the stamped inscription " LMLK ". Another inscription in ancient Hebrew script reads "[belonging] to the king of Hebron ". A First Temple period seal made of semi-precious stone containing ancient Hebrew writing which includes
580-548: The name "Netanyahu ben Yaush" was found as well. Netanyahu is a name mentioned several times in the Book of Jeremiah while the name Yaush appears in the Lachish letters . However, the combination of names was unknown to scholars. During the same excavations, part of the Roman 2nd-century CE Eastern Cardo was uncovered, as well as a street segment dated around 130 CE and leading westwards towards
609-504: The opening of an exit into the Via Dolorosa , underneath the Ummariya madrasah . Over the subsequent few weeks, 80 people were killed as a result of riots against the creation of the exit. Counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend
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#1732856050755638-473: The pavement. Originally thought to be contemporary with the construction of the pool and thus to belong to the Antonia Fortress, reexamination of archaeological data by Father Pierre Benoit has prompted a revision of its dating. The vaults and pavement are rather thought to be contemporary with the nearby Ecce homo arch , originally a triumphal arch constructed by Emperor Hadrian , and thus assigned to
667-521: The plaza were pelted with stones hurled by Palestinians attending prayers in the al-Aqsa Mosque , the plaza known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Archaeological excavations took place at the northwestern edge of the Western Wall Plaza, c. 100 meters west of the Temple Mount. The archaeologists made numerous Late First Temple period findings characteristic of the Kingdom of Judah in the time between
696-551: The site. It was also seen as an opportunity that would not return, given the chaotic situation during the closing days of the war and its immediate aftermath. The only surviving relic from the neighborhood was the so-called Mughrabi Bridge , a ramp which overlooked the plaza and terminated at the Mughrabi Gate , allowing for access to the Temple Mount above. On 8 October 1990, during the First Intifada , Jewish worshipers in
725-466: The smaller one acts as a crowd overflow area for the first, but by itself serving as the location for induction ceremonies of IDF soldiers. While the plaza is open to all, the Ministry of Religious Services employs modesty guards to ensure visitors dress appropriately to the holiness of the site and as a courtesy to worshipers. In August 1967, the architect Yosef Shenberger was called upon to present
754-409: The south. Once open-aired, the pool was accessible along both long walls by a series of rock-cut steps covered by waterproof mortar composed of chalk and ashes. The pool was apparently built by Herod the Great during his construction of the Antonia and the renovation of the Temple Mount in the late first century BCE. The only pool known to stand in close association with the site of the Antonia, there
783-424: The top of the pool, this passage would have remained dry at the time the pool was in use and may have been used as a secret means of access to the pool from the fortress or Temple Mount. Another passage exists north of the pool, though its relation to the pool or the southern passage is unknown. Once open-aired, the pool was later covered by two longitudinal barrel vaults that spring from the side walls and connect on
812-454: Was at the tower Antonia; this was raised by the fifth legion, over against the middle of that pool which was called Struthius The discovery of Seleucid and Hasmonean coins in the debris of the pool, as well as the similarity between local mortar and mortar used in other Hasmonean cisterns and baths in Jerusalem, may suggest a pre-Herodian origin to the pool. The Struthion is also accessible by
841-582: Was limited to a narrow street through the neighbourhood, which sometimes caused friction with the local Arab population. In 1887, Baron Rothschild tried unsuccessfully to purchase the neighborhood and resettle its inhabitants in better accommodation elsewhere. On June 10, three days after the capture of the Old City by the Israel Defence Forces and still during the Six-Day War of 1967, one hour before midnight, civil contractors began work by demolishing
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