At the Foot of the Western Wall

Western Wall Tunnel	Opposite Foundation Stone	Herodian Street	The Large Hall

Under the ground level below the foot of the Western Wall rooms and public halls occupying an area totalling about 2,000 square meters have been discovered. Additionally, a section of a Second Temple (Herodian) period paved road, a Hasmonean water tunnel, a water pool and other finds were also found. King David and King Solomon as well as prophets like Ezra and Nehemiah walked along these places.

Southern Wall of the Temple Mount

Large excavations by the southern retaining wall of the Temple platform expose a monumental thirty-step stairway (see insert photo) leading through the Hulda Gates (the double and triple gates) terminating above in the Temple's outer court. Pilgrims ascended upon these steps to the Temple Mount.

Photos of the partially reconstructed staircase by Joseph Frankovich from Jerusalem Perspective, December 1994, Nos. 46 & 47.

Qumran at the Dead Sea

Qumran is the site of the caves where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Fragments of every book of the Old Testament, apart from the Book of Esther, have been unearthed at Qumran. A copy of the Book of Isaiah, containing all sixty-six chapters in the Hebrew language, was written on parchment around 100 BC making it the oldest and largest of the seven original scrolls. Facing these caves, from the shores of the Dead Sea, is the location of the ruins of the Essene community by the same name, destroyed by the Romans in 68 AD.

Tel Dan in Northern Galilee

The way through the monumental Tel Dan Gate leads to a reconstructed king's court (pictured here) and on to an ancient city of considerable size. Tel Dan is also the well know site of the famous ninth century BC stela discovered by Dr. Avraham Biran containing the inscription House of David (the dynastic name of the kingdom of Judah) in early-Aramaic. This was the first extra-Biblical evidence of the existence of King David.

Megiddo, the Biblical Armageddon

The remains of twenty cities, stretching over 4,000 years of history, have been found in excavations at Megiddo . Pictured is the recently excavated large gate leading to Har-Megiddo, a site of the ninth century BC shaft and tunnel built by King Ahab to withstand long sieges against the city.

Beit She'an in the Jordan Valley

One of the most splendid of Roman cities constructed in the ancient land of Israel, Beit She'an was replete with theaters, heated public baths, a central cardo (covered market place), Roman temples, a Basilica and many monuments and fountains and is the largest of the on-going excavations in Israel today. It has proven to be one of the oldest cities in the ancient Near East. Remains of eighteen layers of cities, going back to the fifth millennium BC, have been identified in the Beit She'an tel. The long list of rulers beginning from the period of the Canaanites all left their marks in the ruins of this ancient city.

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