| Jerusalem |
| The Western Wall |
| Hazard Removal |
| Orderer | The Western Wall Heritage Foundation |
| Duration | Mars - June 2009 |
| Implemented by: |
Evgeny Ivanovsky
Yossi Vaknin
Amit Rosenblum
Yoni Tirosh HaCohen
Aliza Van Zaiden
Arch. Avi Mashiah
Arch. technician Yuval Avraham
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The Western Wall, which is the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, is located at the foot of Mount Moriah in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Moslem Quarter is situated to its north and the Jewish Quarter is to its west.
The Western Wall is a site of world importance. Everyday hundreds and even thousands of people from all over the world visit the wall.
In 2003 an engineering survey of the Western Wall, undertaken on behalf of
the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, was conducted by engineer Arkady Zozolinsky. The stones in the wall and physical problems were mapped within the framework of the survey and the state of the wall’s preservation is subsequently being monitored. In a survey performed in 2009 by conservation engineer Ofer Cohen detached building material was discerned, in addition to stones in the upper courses of the wall that were found to be in danger of falling. Such a condition required action that would stabilize and preserve these courses.
The conservation measures that were needed to remove hazards and stabilize the original elements lasted approximately three and one half months and were implemented mostly during the evening hours and at night.
Historical - Archaeological Description
The Western Wall was constructed in circa 20 BCE during the reign of King Herod, who sought to expand the Temple Mount to the north and south, and for that reason he rebuilt the walls around the mountain.
In the Roman period the Temple Mount stood in ruins. The surface level was covered with numerous remains of the Temple. Jews were forbidden from residing in Jerusalem. Only after Christianity was established as the official religion of the empire were Jews permitted to enter the city on Tisha B'Av, in order to reflect on the memory of the Temple (as chronicled in the itinerary of the “Pilgrim from Bordeaux” in c. 333 CE). At that time worshippers would gather near the western wall of the Temple, which was apparently the closest wall to the “dvir” or the Holy of Holies. This is the origin of the term “Western Wall”, and not that referring to the western wall of the Temple Mount.
In the Byzantine period the mountain remained in a similar state. In the sixth century CE the Persians expelled the Byzantines, among others, with the support of the Jewish community in the country. After a short period Byzantium regained control but then the rulers ordered that the ruins be cleared away from the Temple Mount. They began laying the foundations of an octagonal church there; however, it was never completed due to the Arab conquest.
In the Early Islamic period (from 638 CE) the religious sanctity of the Temple Mount was renewed, this time by the Muslims. The belief that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on his steed from the Temple Mount led to extensive construction there. The Al-Aqsa mosque was built on the southern part of the mountain and the Dome of the Rock was erected in its center, on the foundations that had been laid for the octagonal church. The construction also included the rehabilitation of the Temple Mount walls. Evidence of this construction can be seen today in the Western Wall, in the four stone courses situated above the Herodian courses.
During this period the Jews were granted permission to live in Jerusalem. It was customary then to pray near the southeastern wall of the Temple Mount and confirmation of this was found in the form of inscriptions bearing Jewish names that were exposed there. The use of the Western Wall as a vital place of worship for the Jewish residents of the city began in the twelfth century CE.
The Ottoman Period (from 1517 CE). The government encouraged Jews who had been expelled from Spain to settle throughout the empire and many of them came to the Land of Israel then. Worshippers regularly visited the Western Wall and the place became an important prayer site. In the second half of the nineteenth century CE the upper part of the Western Wall was renovated and repaired, thanks to a contribution provided by Moses Montefiore. In 1887 Baron Rothschild wanted to buy the Western Wall but this attempt failed due to the objection of Jerusalem’s rabbis who feared the reaction of their Muslim neighbors. Another attempt to purchase the Western Wall was made in 1914 by David Yellin, but this too was unsuccessful.
The British Mandate. Following the conquest of the country by the British, and after the establishment of the State of Israel, the Temple Mount was in the hands of Jordanian government. Near the Western Wall was the Mughrabi Quarter, whose Muslims residents lived in very crowded conditions that were typical of the Old City.
State of Israel. In the Six Day War (June 1967) the Old City of Jerusalem was conquered and the State of Israel assumed control of the place. On June 13, 1967 three days after the end of the war, 135 buildings in the Mughrabi Quarter were demolished, including a mosque and a zawiyah (Muslim religious school). Some of the residents of the neighborhood, which numbered c. 650 people, fled and others moved elsewhere in the city. A year later, in 1968, the land in the neighborhood was officially expropriated by the State of Israel. Opposite the Western Wall, in a spot where the Mughrabi Quarter once stood, the Western Wall plaza as we now know it was constructed.
Architectural and Technological Description
The Temple Mount’s western wall is 488 meters long; it is 4.6 meters wide and reaches a presumed height of 32 meters. Approximately 13 meters of the wall are buried beneath the Western Wall plaza in collapse that originated in the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 CE.
The wall is built of hard limestone blocks that have drafted margins, which are characteristic of the construction in the Herodian period. Today, there are seven courses of stone from this period that rise above the level of the Western Wall plaza.
The Western Wall plaza is situated at an elevation of c. 708 meters above sea level; it is 57 meters long and 19 meters high.
Three construction periods have left their mark on the section of the prayer plaza:
1. The Second Temple Period. The first seven courses remain from the Herodian period. These stones are characterized by their partial dressing and outer border.
Dimensions of an average stone: length – 1.5 meters, height – 1 meter, presumed depth of a single stone – c. 2-4 meters.
2. Early Islamic Period (seventh century CE). Four courses of stones remain from this period. They are set above the stonework from the Second Temple period. These stones are square; most of them are uniform in size and coarsely dressed.
Dimensions of an average stone: length – 1 meter, height – 1 meter, depth – 2 meters.
3. The Ottoman Period. The top sixteen courses of stone remain from this period. These building stones are smaller and characterized by coarse dressing.
Dimensions of an average stone: length – 0.4 meter, height – 0.2 meter, depth – 0.5 meter.
Conservation of the Top Courses
The conservation work was carried out on the top sixteen courses of stone in the Western Wall, which were built in the Ottoman period. Due to their location at the top of the wall the stones were exposed to seeping water as a result of which they were subject to weathering and deterioration. The lack of maintenance accelerated the weathering process.
The Problems that Characterized the Upper Courses:
1. Cracking and disintegration of the mortar.
2. The lack of mortar on the top of the wall and in the joints.
3. Cracked stones.
4. Weathering of stones characterized by pitting.
5. Parts of stones that became detached.
6. Vegetation that took root which caused the mortar in the joints to become detached and enlarged the cracks in the stones.
7. Birds nesting in the open joints.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall, approved the intervention plan but due to the sanctity of the site he placed a number of restrictions on it:
1. Prohibition on detracting from the value of the wall. No stone parts (including drilling) or stable mortar could be removed.
2. Refrain from utilizing mechanical intervention.
3. Prohibition on removing the thorny capers because they symbolize the destruction of the Temple.
The conservation work was carried out on lifting platforms and included:
1. Removing crumbling or cracked mortar.
2. Sealing the top of the wall.
3. Stabilizing stones.
4. Pointing up joints with lime-based mortar.
5. Filling cracks and cavities with lime-based mortar.
6. Removing vegetation (except for the thorny capers) and treating it with an herbicide.
In conclusion, the conservation work was conducted in the late afternoon and at night, in order to minimize any inconvenience to the public. This also benefited the drying process of the mortar.
Despite the restrictions placed on the conservators by the rabbi of the Western Wall, the hazards have been removed for now. Refraining from intervention by mechanical means and leaving the thorny capers in place increases the need for monitoring the weathering processes that are active and likely to lead to the detachment of stones. This situation requires continued monitoring and routine annual maintenance by a conservator.
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Yossi Vaknin, Amit Rosenblum, Yoni Tirosh HaCohen
December 2010
To view the figures, click on the figure caption
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