Western Wall Tunnel- Jerusalem

This is the Master Course Stone- it is 44 feet long

 and 15 feet wide, and 11.5 feet high. 

It is estimated to weigh between 570-630 tons.

 It was used to stabilize the smaller stones below it.

 It is believed to be the largest stone

 ever set by humans without

 mechanical help. 

The Western Wall tunnel is an underground tunnel

 that exposes the full length of the Western Wall.

The tunnel is adjacent to the Western Wall

 and is located under buildings of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The open- air part of the Western Wall is about 200 feet long.

The tunnel allows access to an additional 1,591 feet of the wall.

In 19 BC, King Herod began a project

 to double the area of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The plan was to incorporate the hill on the NW. 

 So they built 4 retaining walls, 

and the Temple Mount was expanded on top of them.

The excavations show many of the Herodian features, 

(large stones, streets, and arches)

 as well as later additions.

British researchers began to excavate the Western Wall

 in the mid 19th century-

 including Charles Wilson and Charles Warren.

Warren's Gate is about 150 feet into the tunnel.

 The sealed- off entrance was for

 hundreds of years a small synagogue called

- THE CAVE. 

This is where the early Muslims

 let the Jews pray

 in a spot that was very close

 to the  ruins of the temple.

These are the actual stone pavements

 that would have been walked on 2000 years ago.

Columns found from the Herodian street level.

Cistern 

Stone work in the cistern area.

Whether below the city streets or above-
 there is always plenty to marvel at
 in the city of Jerusalem.