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Abstract

In 2005–2010, large-scale archaeological excavations were conducted in the northwestern part of the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem. The excavation area (1.5 dunams) lies some 100 m west of the Temple Mount, at the foot of a high bedrock cliff that extends from north to south, today separating the Jewish Quarter from the Western Wall Plaza. Today, the Western Wall Heritage Center stands on site, and the archaeological remains are preserved in its basement. The excavation area is located on the axis of el-Wad (Ha-Gai) Street, which passed here until 1967. The street, connecting the Damascus Gate in the north with the Dung Gate in the south, follows the path of the colonnaded Eastern Cardo of Roman-period Jerusalem, today one of the main thoroughfares of the Old City. At a depth of 5–6 m below the level of the present plaza, the remains of the Eastern Cardo were exposed to their full width, including the porticos and a western row of shops. These remains allow for a reconstruction of the street from the time of its paving as an elaborate colonnaded street in the second century CE to its destruction in 1967. During this time span, the elevation of the street was raised by 4 m and its width was reduced from 24 to 3 m. Beneath the street were the remains of a four-room house dated to the First Temple period.

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