The great platform expanded by Herod the Great, where Jesus and his contemporaries worshipped.
Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority have sponsored the production of a virtual tour of the Herodian Second Temple, assisted by the Urban Simulation Team. The focus of the video is on the southern portion of the enclosure, above the monumental public staircase, where the original Royal Stoa stood. Today, this portion of Temple Mount houses the third holiest site in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims marks the spot from which Muhammed ascended on his night journey (mihraj).
Bibliography
Bahat, Dan. "Jesus and the Herodian Temple Mount." In Jesus and Archaeology (ed. James H. Charlesworth; Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 2006) 300-308.
Eliav, Yaron Z. "The Desolating Sacrilege: A Jewish-Christian Discourse on Statuary, Space, and Sanctity." In Sculptural Environment of the Roman Near East: Reflections on Culture, Ideology, and Power (ed. Yaron Z. Eliav, Elise A. Friedland and Sharon Herbert; Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion 9; Dudley, Massachusetts: Peeters, 2008) 605-627.
Lalor, Brian. "The Temple Mount of Herod the Great at Jerusalem: Recent Excavations and Literary Sources." In Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation (ed. John R. Bartlett; London: Routledge, 1997) 95-116.
Mazar, Benjamin. "The Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Near the Temple Mount: Second Preliminary Report, 1969–70 Seasons." In Zalman Shazar Volume (ed. J. Aviram; Eretz Israel 10; Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1971) 1-34, pls. 1-34. [in Hebrew; but images may be useful; Professor has a copy]
