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Return to Zion and the Second Temple Period
  • Remnants of a gate from the Second Temple on the Southern wall of the Temple Mount. This gate is one of two gates mentioned in the Mishna as the
    Remnants of a gate from the Second Temple on the Southern wall of the Temple Mount. This gate is one of two gates mentioned in the Mishna as the "Hulda Gates." Photo: Eliyahu Yanai. Courtesy of the City of David Archives.
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Return to Zion and the Second Temple Period

Through Tunnels under the Temple

 

In the picture: Remnants of a gate from the Second Temple period were found in the southern wall of the Temple Mount. The gate is one of two gates that the Mishnah calls the Hulda Gates. People who entered these gates would then pass through an underground tunnel that ascended northward, leading them to the level of the Temple Mount plaza.

In the picture: The interior of the gate and one of its roofing domes, and a reconstruction based on these findings.

Some scholars believe that the name “Hulda Gates” comes from the fact that the tomb of Hulda the biblical prophetess may have been nearby. Others say that the name comes from the similarity between this passageway and underground tunnels dug by moles (Holed in Hebrew).