Illustrations

The Temple Mount—Har HaBayit in Hebrew, Haram al-Sharif in Arabic, known in the Bible as Mount Moriah—is the centrepiece of Jerusalem. The Western Wall, the holiest shrine of Judaism, is part of Herod’s western supporting wall of the esplanade, the setting for the Islamic shrines, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. To many, these 35 acres remain the centre of the world. (illustration credit ill.1)

In 1994, archaeologists found this stele at Tel Dan on which Hazael, King of Aram-Syria, boasts of his victory over Judaea, the “House of David,” thereby confirming David’s existence. (illustration credit ill.2)

The site of Solomon’s temple has been ravaged and rebuilt so often that little remains, except this ivory pomegranate inscribed “to the house of holiness.” It was probably used as the head of a staff during religious processions in the First Temple. (illustration credit ill.3)

In 701 BC, King Hezekiah fortified the city against the approaching Assyrian army. His so-called broad wall can be seen in today’s Jewish Quarter. (illustration credit ill.4)

Meanwhile, two teams of his engineers started digging the 533-metre-long Siloam Tunnel to provide water for the city: when they met in the middle, they celebrated with this inscription, which was discovered by a schoolboy in 1880. (illustration credit ill.5)