|Exterior of the sealed Golden Gate. (circa 1860)|
|The Golden Gate viewed from within the Temple Plaza (1860)|
|Interior chamber of the|
Golden Gate (1900)
Unlike most of Jerusalem's other gates, the Golden Gate was originally built at least a millennium before Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 1540. Indeed, some archeologists believe that the original gate, dating back to Herod's construction or even Nehemiah's period (440 BCE), still exists beneath the current gate. Perhaps because of the great religious significance of the gate to Jews and Christians as the Messiah's route into Jerusalem, it is believed Suleiman sealed the gate and permitted the construction of a Muslim cemetery in front of the gate.
Hebrew writing on the internal walls of the gate's chamber is believed to have been left by Jewish pilgrims at least 1,000 years ago. (See study by Shulamit Gera, Catedra, in Hebrew.)
|Diagram of the two levels of the|
Golden Gate (with permission of the
Biblical Archaeology Review)
|The ancient subterranean arch and the pit|
of bones. (James Fleming)
See previous photo essays on the Zion Gate, Damascus Gate, and Lions Gate.