Royal Stoa (Jerusalem)
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The Royal Stoa was an ancient basilica constructed by Herod the Great during his renovation of the Temple Mount at the end of the first century BCE. Probably Herod's most magnificent secular construction, the three-aisled structure was described by Josephus as deserving "to be mentioned better than any other under the sun." A center of public and commercial activity, the Royal Stoa was the likely location of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple recounted in the New Testament. The Royal Stoa overlooked Jerusalem's residential and commercial quarters, and at its southwestern corner was the place from which a ram's horn was blown to announce the start of holy days.
Proposed reconstruction of the Royal Stoa at the Holyland Model of Jerusalem
Model of the Herodian Temple Mount: Temple (center), Royal Stoa (left), and Antonia Fortress (right)
Southern Wall as depicted at the Holyland Model, showing the Huldah Gates and the Royal Stoa
Silver shekel minted during the Great Revolt. The archaizing, paleo-Hebrew inscription reads: "Shekel of Israel" "Year 3" (obverse); "Jerusalem the Holy" (reverse)
Southern Wall
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The Southern Wall is the retaining wall of the Temple Mount at the southern end. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the Ophel.
Eastern portion of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount
Pilgrim steps leading to the Double Gate
Eastern (triple) set of Hulda gates
A reused marble slab with an inscription, that came from a statue of the emperor Antoninus Pius.