Biblical-themed exhibit inaugurated at Roman site under Damascus Gate in Jerusalem

A 2nd-century gate in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter offers a glimpse into the capital’s multilayered history — and complex present

On a sunny and crisp Jerusalem winter day, a moderate crowd of vendors with old-fashioned trolleys, women wearing headscarves, Christian priests, and passersby from all walks of life strolled through the iconic Damascus Gate, a primary access to the Old City of Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter that connects it with the Arab neighborhood of Bab az-Zahra.

Meanwhile, a few meters below street level, another gate was recently reopened to the public for the first time in years, offering a glimpse into the city’s multilayered history.

The newly inaugurated site dates back to the 2nd century CE, when Jerusalem was under Roman rule. The renovated site was dubbed “City Gate” by the East Jerusalem Development Company (also known by its Hebrew acronym PAMI), which developed it. Established in 1966 as a governmental body to restore the Yemin Moshe and Mamilla neighborhoods, PAMI has focused on tourist sites for the past three decades.

“Today, we are standing on the site of a 1,900-year-old gate that reveals the fascinating history of Jerusalem,” said PAMI CEO Beni Sasi. “We are all familiar with the Damascus Gate built by Suleiman, but fewer people know that under it are the remains of ancient Jerusalem.”

In the first half of the 2nd century CE — a few decades after the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple, killing, enslaving, or expelling all Jewish residents of the city in 70 CE– Roman Emperor Hadrian toured the Eastern Provinces of the empire, including Judaea.

Hadrian decided to build a grandiose Roman city, Aelia Capitolina, on the ruins of Jerusalem.

Aelia Capitolina had four freestanding gates. The northern gate featured three arched openings. The new City Gate site includes the eastern arch, approximately 4.85 meters high. The opening leads to the inner Roman plaza and the eastern guard tower. The 12-meter-high structure of the tower is still preserved and offers access to the Ramparts Walk, a promenade atop the Old City’s walls that PAMI also manages.

“The colonia Aelia Capitolina [built this] by decree of the city Decurions [city councilors],” reads a Latin inscription still visible above the keystone of the arch

As they pass through the gate, visitors are first invited to enter the guard chamber of the tower, where they are presented with an eye-catching, colorful light show focusing on the role of gates in the Hebrew Bible, including segments on the structures as places of justice, commerce, prophecy, and kings.

The following room presents a virtual reproduction of the Madaba Map, a renowned 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem uncovered at the end of the 19th century in an ancient Byzantine church in Jordan. The map also includes a depiction of the city’s northern gate, represented by the famous pillar that gave it its name in Arabic (to this day, Damascus Gate is known in Arabic as Bab al-Amud, the gate of the column).

A creative reproduction of the ancient pillar, featuring the name of Jerusalem in multiple languages, is also part of the exhibit. An additional hall features 3D-printed reproductions of all the gates of the Ottoman Wall that offer access to the Old City to this day.

Built in the 16th century by Suleiman, the wall also includes the modern Damascus Gate, which was erected on top of the Roman 2nd-century structure.

The site was excavated by archaeologists in the 1930s and then again in the 1960s and 1980s.

An additional installation in the exhibit emphasizes the connection between the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem, quoting the famous biblical verse “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” (Psalm 137:5).

‘A symbol of Jewish revival’

The exhibit was developed by Breeze Creative, a production company that has created installations and multimedia shows for museums and parks across Israel, including the Masada National Park, the Davidson Center – Archeological Garden near the Western Wall, and the Caesarea Harbor Visitor Center.

“When we saw the site, we thought it would be perfect to offer the visitor an immersive experience,” Breeze Creative CEO Sagi Yehezkel told The Times of Israel. “Today, people from all over the world come to Jerusalem not only to receive information but also to get excited about what they see.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority provided PAMI and Breeze with the archaeological information on the site but declined to be interviewed for this article, highlighting that it was not involved in its development.

Asked why PAMI chose to create an installation featuring biblical themes that were not directly connected to the site’s history, Sasi said that they wanted “to seize the opportunity of an ancient gate in Jerusalem to showcase the role of the gate as a symbol in the Jewish society.”

“We have not ignored the site’s history; we explain it dates back to the Roman period. We explain the story of Aelia Capitolina,” he told The Times of Israel on the sidelines of the inauguration event. “At the same time, we felt there were not so many places where we can tell the story of the gate in the Jewish tradition and educate the public about it.”

A spokesperson of PAMI, Gura Berger, added that the installation is also a symbol of Jewish revival.

“Hadrian killed hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Romans conquered the place, changed the name of the city, then they disappeared, and other people came, rebuilt and changed the city again, but then the State of Israel returned,” Berger told The Times of Israel.

“This site shows that someone can try to conquer Jerusalem, but the Jewish belief lives inside it,” she added. “Nobody can take the Jewish people away from here.”

Her sentiments were echoed in the words of Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush, who attended the site’s inauguration and placed a mezuzah on its doors.

“In this place where we stand today, the Holy City of Jerusalem, on the ruins of the Roman gate that was the entrance to the city they built to erase all memory of the Temple and the capital of the Jewish people, we must remember what was then — and what will lead to our victory today, the Jewish spirit,” he said in his speech.

A new Jewish presence in the Muslim Quarter

In the past few years, Damascus Gate has often been a flashpoint for tensions between the Palestinian and Jewish residents of the city. In 2015-2016, several attacks of the so-called “stabbing Intifada” took place in the area. In 2021, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israel Police during protests against restrictions at the gate.

“While Israel claims that it aims to develop the area around the gate, it is effectively redefining its character, promoting tourism, and increasing Israeli presence so as to diminish or conceal the Palestinian character of the area,” reads a 2021 essay published by Emek Shaveh, an Israeli organization that describes its mission as “protecting ancient sites as public assets that belong to members of all communities, faiths, and peoples.” The essay mentions both the Roman plaza, now re-inaugurated as City Gate, and the nearby Zedekiah’s Cave, which PAMI also manages.

Sasi stressed that the City Gate’s exhibit includes an explanation of the pillar’s history that inspired the gate’s Arabic name, and all signs are written in Arabic as well as in Hebrew and English.

“However, the site does not present other connections with the Arabs,” he said. “At Zedekiah’s Cave, we explain the Muslim beliefs about the place in the exhibit. Here, we did not find additional connections besides the gate’s name.”

SOURCE:  https://www.timesofisrael.com/biblical-themed-exhibit-inaugurated-at-roman-site-under-damascus-gate-in-jerusalem/