Herod the Great's renovation of the Second Temple transformed Jerusalem's Temple Mount into a vast 35-acre artificial platform using gigantic retaining walls, some containing stones exceeding 500 tons. According to Josephus, the sanctuary gleamed with gold and brilliant white stone. This monumental complex was destroyed by Rome under Titus in 70 AD and was never rebuilt.
Herod's 35-acre Temple Mount platform with 500-ton stones, destroyed by Rome in 70 AD
Site mentioned
📍 Second Temple
Key facts
- Herod the Great ruled Judea from roughly 37 to 4 BC under Roman authority
- Herod's greatest project was the rebuilding of the Second Temple and its surrounding complex on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
- Herod dramatically enlarged the natural summit by constructing gigantic retaining walls, creating a vast artificial platform of roughly 35 acres
- Some surviving stones in the retaining walls are enormous; one famous stone in the Western Wall Tunnel is estimated at more than 500 tons
- According to Josephus, parts of the sanctuary were covered with gold and exposed stone surfaces were brilliantly white
- Herod also constructed the harbor and city of Caesarea Maritima using Roman hydraulic engineering
- In 70 AD, the Roman army under Titus destroyed the Second Temple and devastated large parts of Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War after a brutal siege
- The monumental temple described in the New Testament was never reconstructed
Sources
What was Herod's temple?gotquestions.org
Herod proposed to renovate the temple in 20—19 BC, his reason being the post-exilic temple was sixty cubits shorter than Solomon's original.
The Temple of Herod | Religious Studies Centerrsc.byu.edu
[10] An historical review of Herod's rebuilding the Second Temple can be found in Ehud Netzer, The Architecture of Herod the Great Builder (Tübingen: Mohr ...
TEMPLE OF HERODjewishencyclopedia.com
The new Temple was rebuilt as rapidly as possible, being finished in a year and a half, although work was in progress on the out-buildings and courts for eighty ...
The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period (37 BC–70 A.D.)biblicalarchaeology.org
King Herod the Great, began the most ambitious building project of his life—the rebuilding of the Temple and the Temple Mount in lavish style.
Uncovering Herodian Archaeology: The Temple Mount and ...history.vcu.edu
The main architectural feat that Herod had was the reconstruction of the Temple Mount and the second temple, in Jerusalem. The first temple ...
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