A buried building discovered near Jerusalem’s Western Wall is opening to travelers – here's what it looks like
Christian travelers visit Jerusalem to retrace Jesus' final footsteps along the Via Dolorosa, Muslims to revere the Dome of the Rock, and Jewish people to insert written prayers into the cracks of the Western Wall.Come December, travelers will have a new option available to them when visiting Jerusalem. They can go underground to experience a portion of the Old City as it existed some 2,000 years ago.
The excavated area dates to the period of the Second Temple, which was originally constructed in sixth century B.C. and later greatly expanded by Herod the Great, who ruled Jerusalem from 37 to 34 B.C. The Romans destroyed the temple around A.D. 70. "You go down to the Ottoman period, the Muslim period, the Crusader period … all the way down to the Herodian period," he said, referencing the reign of King Herod and his heirs, from 37 B.C. to 73 C.E.Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority
Historians believe the chambers were reception rooms for dignitaries, wealthy visitors and members of the high priesthood, said Carlin. Archeologists found a small ritual purification pool, called a mikvah, which priests and aristocrats likely used before visiting the Second Temple. The room with the mikvah was part of an "elite gateway" into the Second Temple, said Israel Ministry of Tourism's Eyal Carlin.Jerusalem is, in parts at least, a city built on top of other cities. Existing buildings became basements or underground living spaces for new construction built on top, according to an article in