Ashlars

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Herod the Great was a master builder. You see his handiwork on any trip to the Holy Land. He ruled Judea from 37-4 BC, and constructed a wide variety of things: theaters, amphitheaters, hippodromes, fortresses, aqueducts, roads, personal palaces, and much more. Without a doubt, his most ambitious (and crowning) achievement was the reconstruction of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He had to overcome many topographical and construction issues to nearly double the original size of the Temple Mount that Solomon constructed.

When completed, nothing, not even anything in Rome, could equal it. The Temple stood more than 15 stories tall, made with the finest marble and with gold. The massive retaining wall that was constructed, when back filled, literally filled up the Tyropoean or Central Valley, changing the landscape of Jerusalem forever.

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The retaining wall was made of “ashlar” stones. The term “ashlar” means, finely dressed (cut, or worked) stone. Herodian ashlars were large and had a unique design. The massive stones used to make the retaining wall were edged with a 2-inch margin and a boss of about ½ inch. When placed on top of each other, they were set back about ½ inch. These unmortared stones were cut so precisely that a knife blade cannot be inserted between them.