Damascus Gate, the most architecturally impressive gate of Jerusalem's Old City, is known to Arabs as Bab Al-Amud, the Gate of the Pillar. This name is with reference to a majestic Roman column which once stood in the area. The column was built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, apparently topped by a statue of himself, in the plaza just inside the Damascus Gate, in the 2nd century A.D. The column served as the the starting point for measuring all distances from Jerusalem and was considered the major architectural feature of Hadrian's Aeolia Capitolina (name he gave for Jerusalem). Modern archeologists got a clue about this column's existence from a 6th century mosaic map of the Holy Land that was uncovered from the ruins of a Greek Orthodox church in the tiny Jordanian village of Madaba. Till, date Madaba Map is the oldest map of Jerusalem discovered. The map showed a tall column standing in a plaza just behind the Damascus gate and streets running out from there in all directions.
In 1984, Israeli archaeologists decided to excavate the Damascus Gate area based on details from a map from the 6th century AD! Surprisingly, a Roman Gate and a Guard Tower from first century AD were discovered beneath Damascus Gate, exactly on the same spot depicted in Madaba map. The uncovered guard tower is 36 feet tall, 33 feet long and 18 feet wide. It is the tallest preserved Roman structure excavated in Israel. In addition, a huge stone olive press, from Byzantine period has also been discovered (7th cent AD). The original Roman pavement of the plaza that lay just behind the Roman gate as pictured on the Madaba map was also uncovered. Despite the tremendous efforts, the archaeologists failed to find the column. The spot where the column should have been located was found, but the column itself was not there. Not a trace of its existence could be found. It's a mystery that has not been solved till date. Today, the whole area is an underground museum, where you can see the Guard Tower, Roman pavement, copy of the Madaba map and the olive press. But the column is assumed to have fallen or broken in the major earthquake of 747 A.D. The exact position where according to the Madaba Map the column should have been, is marked and its on the road leading from Damascus gate towards the busy Arab markets.
In 1984, Israeli archaeologists decided to excavate the Damascus Gate area based on details from a map from the 6th century AD! Surprisingly, a Roman Gate and a Guard Tower from first century AD were discovered beneath Damascus Gate, exactly on the same spot depicted in Madaba map. The uncovered guard tower is 36 feet tall, 33 feet long and 18 feet wide. It is the tallest preserved Roman structure excavated in Israel. In addition, a huge stone olive press, from Byzantine period has also been discovered (7th cent AD). The original Roman pavement of the plaza that lay just behind the Roman gate as pictured on the Madaba map was also uncovered. Despite the tremendous efforts, the archaeologists failed to find the column. The spot where the column should have been located was found, but the column itself was not there. Not a trace of its existence could be found. It's a mystery that has not been solved till date. Today, the whole area is an underground museum, where you can see the Guard Tower, Roman pavement, copy of the Madaba map and the olive press. But the column is assumed to have fallen or broken in the major earthquake of 747 A.D. The exact position where according to the Madaba Map the column should have been, is marked and its on the road leading from Damascus gate towards the busy Arab markets.
No comments:
Post a Comment