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Sites: The Northern Gate of Aelia Capitolina   Print Friendly
and PDF  The gate in the northern wall of the Old City of
Jerusalem, designed to serve those entering the city from the
north, was constructed in 1538 during the reign of the Ottoman
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Known today as the Damascus
Gate, it is the largest and most elaborate of all the Old City
gates.  Massive architectural remains incorporated into the
foundations of the present structure suggested the possibility
that it concealed parts of an earlier gate. Indeed, during the
1930s and again in the 1960s, excavations along the outer side
of the Damascus Gate exposed the remains of the fortified
Crusader gate and, below it, the second century Roman city gate
preserved almost intact.  New excavations between 1979 - 1984
enabled scholars to familiarize themselves with this unique
gate. It was an impressive city gate with three entrances,
protected on both sides by massive towers.