The first wall

The First Wall (also called The Old Wall) is one of three strong and fortified walls that were built for the defense of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period. This wall was built during the Hasmonean period, but its foundations are older and were laid already in the First Temple period. During the time of the Return to Zion, the wall was rebuilt by Nehemiah, and in the days of the Hasmoneans, it was strengthened and even additional parts of it were built. The additional walls are the Second Wall - built during the days of the Hasmonean rulers John Hyrcanus or Alexander Jannaeus, and the Third Wall - construction began in the days of Agrippa I, and its construction was completed on the eve of the Great Revolt.

Background
Throughout the entire Hellenistic period, the boundaries of the city hardly changed since the days of the Return to Zion. The Second Temple was located in the same place where it was initially in the days of the First Temple, and the city - the City of David - was to its south. In the 2nd century BCE, during the reign of the Hasmoneans, the city began to significantly expand towards the western hill, where the Hasmonean palace was built. The area was characterized by luxurious architectural style, and its inhabitants included the wealthy and respected. The new area, which with its expansion and establishment to the west, began to expand also to the north, was called "the Upper City" and around it a new wall was built, "the First Wall," which actually enclosed the Lower City together with the Upper City. Both essentially constituted the main part of Jerusalem. Due to the city's location near the Kidron Valley to the east and the Valley of Hinnom to the south, which served as "natural barriers" for topographical reasons, the city was later expanded only towards the west and the north, while the eastern and southern boundaries remained unchanged.

The course of the wall
Within the first wall's boundaries included the City of David and Mount Zion, whereas most of the areas that are today within the boundaries of the Ottoman wall of Jerusalem were outside the first wall. The wall began in the area of the citadel (Tower of David) from there the wall descended along the southern ridge line of Mount Zion on a rocky cliff towards the Pool of Siloam, in the southern section of the wall the Essenes Gate was established which led to the desert. From there, the wall turned east and north on the eastern slope of the City of David, in a line parallel to the Kidron Valley. The wall passed through the Ophel area, and connected to the wall of the Temple Mount slightly north to the southwest corner, to allow entry to the Temple Mount from the east. The area of connection of the first wall to the Temple Mount wall is called "the seam" due to the meeting of two building styles. The northern part of the wall started from the Tower of David eastward to the Temple Mount parallel to the Tyropoeon Valley (David Street and Chain Street). In the northern wall were established several gates, among them "the Hidden Gate" and "Garden Gate". Above the remains of the first wall and more or less in the same course, about 400 years later, in the Byzantine period, a new wall was built by Empress Eudocia. The fact that two walls were built 400 years apart in the same course without their builders knowing about each other, proves that the topographic location of the first wall is the most correct for defending the city.

Additional fortifications along the wall
In the fortress area where the first wall begins, Herod strengthened the wall, Phasael Tower, and Tower of David, and built the Hippicus Tower ('Tower of David'). The section south of the fortress, where the wall was built on rock to protect the western part of the Upper City, was also fortified, and nearby, the palace was built. The wall served as a supporting wall of the structure, and an adjacent front wall was added with a thickness of up to 3.5 meters. This wall later served as the foundation for the Ottoman wall (remnants that exist to our days).

Remnants of the first wall existing today
Today, there are clear remnants of the First Wall in these places:


 * In the area of the citadel, which is called today "Tower of David"
 * In the Mamilla area, west of the current wall, there are remnants of Hasmonean fortifications.
 * In the Jewish Quarter, close to the Israelite Tower and remnants of a gate which is probably "Gennath Gate".
 * At the base of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount.
 * On the southern slopes of Mount Zion.