Jerusalem’s Western Wall was built well after Herod

“Historians say these coins suggest that Herod was not responsible for the construction of the wall Jews view as the most holy site for prayer in Jerusalem”. Jerusalem’s Temple Mount Not Completed by King Herod - Biblical Archaeology Society Jerusalem’s Temple Mount Not Completed by King Herod Bible and archaeology news Biblical Archaeology Society Staff November 28, 2011 …. Coins discovered beneath the foundations of Jerusalem’s Western Wall prove that Herod the Great did not even come close to completing construction on the Temple Mount compound. The coins, stamped around 17 C.E. with the name of the Roman proconsul Valerius Gratus, were found inside an earlier ritual bath (mikveh) that had been filled in to support the construction of the Temple Mount’s western wall—some two decades after Herod’s death. The finds tend to confirm the account of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who records that the entire complex was only completed during the reign of Herod’s great-grandson, Agrippa II, probably around 50 C.E. “The find changes the way we see the construction,” said Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Eli Shukron. “[The coins] show [the Temple Mount’s construction] lasted for longer than we originally thought.” Coin Discovery Sheds new Light on Sacred Jerusalems Western Wall | Actforlibraries.org Coin Discovery Sheds new Light on Sacred Jerusalems Western Wall …. A discovery of ancient coins under the Western Wall of Jerusalem shed new light on how the Temple Mount was built. King Herod has largely been credited for leading the construction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem about two thousand years ago. His temple was built on the site of the original temple built by Solomon in Old Testament days. The coins discovered under the Western Wall are significant because they are dated twenty years after Herod’s death in 4 B.C. Historians say these coins suggest that Herod was not responsible for the construction of the wall Jews view as the most holy site for prayer in Jerusalem. …. Valerius Gratus, a Roman governor in the region, stamped the coins in 17 A.D., suggesting that construction of the temple was not completed until at least that year. Incidentally, Gratus preceded Pontius Pilate, the governor famous for his role in the execution of Jesus Christ. Archaeologists excavating an area under the wall discovered the coins in a drainage tunnel that temple builders filled in as part of the construction effort. According to their opinions, the Western Wall was not built until after Herod’s death ….