Herodian Quarter
I went here as part of a class field trip. The cool thing about this place is that its ruins actually lie underneath the buildings above it. What has been discovered here is really neat – beautiful mosaic floors, 9 mikvahs, the oldest drawing of a menorah in the world, evidence of a burnt house, and more.
The Herodian Quarter today is in the Jewish Quarter and is also known as the “Wohl Museum.” It was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD and evidence of that remains in a burnt house, which was uncovered and dates back to that time. Josephus wrote about the destruction of the upper city (which is where this burnt house is located). He records that “when they went in numbers into the lanes of the city, with their swords drawn, they slew without mercy those whom they overtook, and set fire to the houses whither the Jews had fled, and burnt every soul in them.” (Wars 6:403). It is also believed by some that in this area dwelt the families of the Sadducee high priests because of the number of ritual baths there, the wealth that existed there, and some of the writings of Josephus (Wars 2, 17:6) |