# Is The "Waling Wall" Really Part of Herod's Temple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-waling-wall-really-part-of-herods-temple/582885 "2011-05-23T12:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-waling-wall-really-part-of-herods-temple/582885/1 "2011-05-23T12:39:59Z")
The so-called Wailing Wall is said to be the last remnant of the temple, that was built by the Jewish King Herod, in the 1st century BC. Have any archaeological excavations been done there, to establish this? The Romans destroyed most of Jerusalem in 70 AD-why wouldn’t they have totally destroyed any and all important bildings like the temple? In any case, what hard evidence exists to prove that the wall is actually part of the temple? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-waling-wall-really-part-of-herods-temple/582885/2 "2011-05-23T13:40:06Z")
> **[Western Wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall)** > > The Western Wall (Hebrew: הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, romanized: HaKotel HaMa'aravi, lit. 'the western wall'; pronunciationⓘ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: HaKosel HaMa'arovi) is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name, often shortened by Jews to the Kotel or Kosel, is known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Arab world and Islamic world as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ٱلْ... > [@](#): > > It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard, and is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism outside of the Temple Mount itself. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, having been constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great. The remaining layers were added from the 7th century onwards. The Western Wall refers not only to the exposed section facing a large plaza in the Jewish Quarter, but also to the sections concealed behind structures running along the whole length of the Temple Mount, such as the Little Western Wall–a 25 ft (8 m) section in the Muslim Quarter. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-waling-wall-really-part-of-herods-temple/582885/3 "2011-05-23T13:47:56Z")
The Wall wasn’t really part of the temple - it’s a [retaining wall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retaining_wall) holding up the hill on which the temple once stood. Tearing it down, besides being very difficult, would have been pointless, and would probably have caused a major landslide.