The Western Wall Tunnels

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History

Description

The Western Wall or Kotel is the only extant remnant of the 2nd Temple. It serves as the Western retaining wall of the Temple courtyard. It is the holiest of all Jewish sites, Jews came here for centuries to pray and mourn. The site is especially visited on Sabbaths and Festivals and the 9th of Av - the anniversary of the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples.

Inside the wall is a complex network of caverns and passageways running parallel to the Western Wall. They were discovered in 1967 by engineers laying water pipes. Over decades they were excavated by archeologists, supervised by the archeologists M. Ben-Dov and later by D. Bahat on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The underground tunnels are starting at the north-west of the prayer plaza. They pass close to that part of the Western Wall which is hidden by buildings. They continue through a system of vaulted areas and water cisterns. About 350m of the Wall up to the northern edge, which is the north-western corner of the Temple Mount, can be seen. In one tunnel the largest stones of the Wall were found, including a giant stone 60m long, 3m high and 4m wide, weighing approximately 400 tons.

See also

• Search Google for "The Western Wall Tunnels"
• Aish HaTorah's Tunnel Tour
• Jerusalem - The Western Wall and its Tunnels
• The Western Wall Tunnels
• The Western Wall

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