The vast raised platform Herod the Great built for the Second Temple — the beating heart of Jewish worship in Jesus's day, where he taught and overturned the money-changers' tables. Rome destroyed the Temple in AD 70; the platform survives as the Haram al-Sharif, and its Herodian retaining walls (including the Western Wall), monumental stairs and gates are among the most solidly attested structures in Jerusalem.
- Where it is
- Old City, Jerusalem
- Scripture
- Luke 21:5 · John 2:14-16
What the evidence confirmsHerod's enormous Temple platform is richly documented — its huge ashlar retaining walls, the Western Wall, the southern stairs and gates all survive and are excavated.
What it does not proveThe Temple building itself was destroyed in AD 70 and its exact position on the platform is debated; the site is today a revered Muslim sanctuary and cannot be excavated.
Sources & further reading