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The excavations on the site of the Herodian Quarter, which were conducted in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, reveal to us a part of the Second Temple period Upper City. We will visit the houses of the wealthy neighborhood that existed here during the time of Herod and his descendants, and which was inhabited by four generations of residents over a period of about a century (37 BCE-70 CE). We will gaze at the remains of the "mansions" of that time, and learn of the inhabitants' taste in art, the styles they were fond of, the objets d'art that pleased them, the furniture they introduced into their homes, and even their bathing habits. The archaeological finds paint for us a detailed and colorful picture of the life enjoyed by Jerusalem's wealthy class in the late Second Temple period. The second half of the walking tour will bring us to the Kidron Valley, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where we will encounter the monumental tombs that affluent individuals of the Second Temple period built for themselves as an abode for eternity. The city of the living in the Upper City and the city of the dead in the Kidron Valley are linked artistically and architecturally, and the worldview of their builders was expressed in their structures. All this enriches our understanding of the period. As an introduction to this part of the tour, we recommend reading about the burial practices of the Second Temple period (see Tour 6). |
