World Religions › Classical faiths › Roman destruction of the Second Temple
Western Wall
Herod's Temple platform, begun c. 19 BC· Holy place· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
A surviving retaining wall of Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem, today the most important place of Jewish prayer.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Herod the Great began rebuilding the Second Temple around 19 BC, enclosing the hill in a vast platform held up by retaining walls. When Rome destroyed the Temple in AD 70, these walls largely survived. Part of the western side, closest to the lost sanctuary, became the main place of Jewish prayer and lament, hence the name 'Wailing Wall'. The open prayer section is about 60 meters long; visitors tuck written prayers into its cracks. Muslims revere the same wall as al-Buraq Wall.
Why it matters
It is the holiest site where Jews may pray, a symbol of survival after the Temple's loss, and a focal point in disputes over Jerusalem.
Sources and history
Archaeology confirms Herodian masonry with typical carved margins; excavations since Charles Warren in the 1860s and after 1967; Josephus describes Herod's building; Jewish prayer there is recorded from at least the 1500s.
Questions and debates
Coins found beneath the wall in 2011 suggest parts were finished years after Herod's death in 4 BC; exactly who completed it is debated.
Connections (2)
▸Western Wall is the holiest Jewish prayer site in JerusalemHistorical record
The connection
The Western Wall stands in Jerusalem's Old City at the edge of the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their holiest place. Because long-standing arrangements bar Jewish prayer on the Mount itself, and many rabbis forbid entering it, the Wall became the main place Jews pray toward the vanished sanctuary. Muslims revere it as part of the Haram al-Sharif.
When and where
Jerusalem; Jewish prayer there is recorded from the 1500s under Ottoman rule. Under Jordan (1948–67) Jews were barred; since 1967 Israel has controlled it, demolishing the adjacent Moroccan Quarter to build the plaza.
Historical evidence
Travelers' accounts, Ottoman and British Mandate records, and the 1930 international commission, set up after the 1929 riots, that ruled on Muslim ownership and Jewish prayer rights there.
Questions and debates
Why Jewish devotion settled on this stretch of wall rather than others is unclear; control of the site and prayer rights remain politically disputed.
▸Western Wall survived Roman destruction of the Second TempleHistorical record
The connection
In AD 70 the Romans burned the Temple and pulled down its buildings, but the massive retaining walls of Herod's platform largely remained. Later Roman, Byzantine and Muslim rulers built on the platform. The surviving western side, nearest the vanished sanctuary, became a living memorial of the loss, mourned especially on Tisha B'Av.
When and where
Jerusalem, August AD 70, when Titus' legions burned the Temple; the lower courses of the western retaining wall stayed in place.
Historical evidence
Excavations along the wall found Herodian stones in place and, below Robinson's Arch, a street piled with stones the Romans toppled from above in 70.
Questions and debates
How much of the wall was damaged in 70 and repaired later is still studied; its upper courses date from early Islamic, medieval and Ottoman times.