Robinson's Arch: A Staircase Beside the Temple

Biblical scholar Edward Robinson identified the remains of a huge arch in Jerusalem in 1838. He tied it to a bridge described by the ancient writer Josephus.

Scripture: Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”

As Jesus left the temple, a disciple pointed out its stones and buildings. So what did those buildings look like on the ground?

Herod the Great announced the renovation and expansion of the Second Temple in 20 to 19 BCE. The arch was built along with the Temple Mount's retaining walls. Newer findings suggest it may not have been finished until at least twenty years after his death.

The arch is named for Robinson, though Frederick Catherwood noticed it earlier. Excavations in the second half of the twentieth century revealed its purpose and the extent of the structures around it.

Not everything is settled. Fragments of a gate were found, and its width is calculated at five metres. But so little of it survives that it has not been established whether there was one gate, two or three.

The overpass was destroyed in the First Jewish–Roman War, reportedly only a few decades after it was built. The sources here don't link it directly to Jesus's words, so the connection is indirect. It was part of Herod's temple expansion, which may hint at its scale.

Today, considerable surviving portions can be seen in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, beside the Western Wall worship area, where some groups use a portion as a place of prayer.

Stone can tell us what stood there, and the passage tells us what was said about it. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today. Follow along for the next find.