The Dung Gate of Jerusalem

By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)

A Bar Mitzvah near the Dung Gate

The Dung Gate could also be considered the trash gate because it was the most common place to dump the city’s refuse. One reason for this is that the Dung Gate was at the lowest point in Jerusalem. Beyond the gate was a steep drop-off into the Hinnom Valley. People in the city threw their trash over the cliff and down to the bottom of the valley so the people of Jerusalem would never see their trash anymore.

Exiting Buses near the Dung Gate

The dung gate of Jerusalem received its name because a cattle market existed at this place in the past. Livestock were brought in through the gate and sold in a market. When the animals were sold, butchers were available to process the meat and tanners were available to receive the skins which were turned into leather products Dung from the cattle and chemicals from the tanners were disposed of out the gate and over the hill in Hinnom Valley.

View of the Dung Gate walkway facing to the east

Across the course of history there were actually two Dung Gates. The older gate existed below the Pool of Siloam in the days of the First and Second Temple. The other Dung Gate, that exists today, is about three-tenths of a mile uphill from the old location in the city of Jebus. Both gates were known in the time of Nehemiah, the older gate was called the Dung Gate, the upper location was known as the Valley Gate. Both gates were located in the Tyropoeon Valley, which intersects Jerusalem.

Old and New Dung Gate sites

The Dung Gate today is an entry point for those wanting visit the Western Wall (Kotel). The gate is very busy today, and was a commercial center in antiquity. Close to the area are several archaeological sites. The Western Wall excavations are north of the Dung Gate and to the south of the gate the Israel Antiquities Authority is digging at what used to be the Giv'ati Parking Lot. They have found the home of Queen Helena of Adiabene (read more in my book - Israel: Stories for Your Journey) as well as other artifacts.

Experience Israel through its stories

I invite you to join me as I lead a group to explore the land of Israel or read my book to learn more.

Israel Adventure - Day 12

Each morning on the way to breakfast I walk through the oldest modern Jerusalem subdivision. These homes were built in about 1860 to alleviate overcrowding in the walled city. Now they are an exclusive housing division located very close to the Old City.

After breakfast at Aroma Coffee we joined our tour group this morning at Hebrew Union for a walk to the Jewish Quarter. We began the day with a tour under the Old City by the Western Wall of the Temple.

The tour began with a brief orientation by our tour guide, who recounted for us the history of Mount Moriah. During the time of Jesus the western side of Temple Mount faced a valley. Most of the priests lived on the other side, so they built a causeway over the valley. During the tour, we looked up at vaulted ceilings which are the bottom of that elevated path.

After the destruction of the Temple the entire valley was filled with stone. After that the Arabs raised the city so they would not have to traverse a valley getting to the Dome of the Rock.

We approached the Western Wall at the largest block in the wall construction, which weighs 570 tons (45’ x 11” x 15’). Herod figured out how to move this block into place when he was building the Temple - an impressive task. The block was so heavy that when Titus gave the order to tear down the Western Wall, the Roman army could not move this massive piece of stone, so they started chipping away to try to decrease the size and weight. The progress of the Roman army’s attempts to knock down the walls can be see along the top and right side of the block, but they could not move the massive stone.

We walked along the wall to the north, which continued for about 150 meters. We saw typical Herodian stones along the wall. Each level of block was stepped back so the wall would not appear to be falling on the people as they looked upward toward the top. The pathway led downhill until we hit the bedrock. Because the Temple was built on bedrock that has a natural incline, the bedrock was cut down and became part of the stones - King Herod had the bedrock carved like the stone for consistency and quality. We reached the original street level and saw how roads were paved. Eventually we hit a spot along the path where we could see the other side of the street as it existed 2,000 years ago.

The path extended into the aqueduct and ended at a cistern developed for the Antonion fortress. Pictured in the cistern is our guide. Above is a block which is under homes and in the streets.

At the end of the tour we walked to the Jewish Quarter. The entrance of the tunnel is located at the Western Wall Plaza, so we walked past the Western Wall (although we did not go to the public part of the wall). The picture below shows the Western Wall as we are climbing. The Dome of the Rock is visible in this picture.

At the top of the stairs we stopped at a church and inn managed by the Teutonic Templar Knights. The church’s architecture was made in gothic style.

Next we went to the Wohl Museum of Herodian Archaeology which contains six homes from the time of Jesus. These are not normal homes, but the homes of the wealthy on top of new Mount Zion. This can be seen in the jars found at the site;

The mosaics seen in the houses;

And the large mansion which may have belonged to the High Priest:

Dr. Ilan then took us outside and onto the Cardo which ran through Jerusalem from the Damascus Gate to the Zion Gate. This road is shown on the map at Madaba, Jordan. The street was wide with shops on each side. As we walked, we saw where the ruins were uncovered and could imagine where shops were set along the street according to the ancient style. As we walked further along the Cardo, Dr. Ilan pointed out where shop spaces became more modern and the street was not as wide. Eventually we came to the Muslim Quarter, where the streets are even narrower and more crowded.

At this point we were released to see the city. The group went to eat lunch at a shawarma place (Kosher). We sat down and I met a man who went to school with Denise, proving that the world is a small place.

We then went shopping, first stopping into Moshe Shorashim’s Shop, which we visited on our trips with John Delancey. (Please plan to go on a trip to Israel in 2018 with me, and see this shop. The trip will cost about $5,000 per person … let me know if you have any interest [no obligation] so I can put you on the mailing list.)

As we left the city we saw the “traditional” Upper Room site and King David’s tomb.

Our day finished with a great dinner of Salmon, sweet potato latkes, rice, and green beans at Caffit, a restaurant about a block from our apartment.