Wilson's Arch prayer hall

Wilson's Arch is the modern name for an ancient stone arch from Jerusalem, the first in a row of arches that supported a large bridge connecting the Herodian Temple Mount with the Upper City on the opposite Western Hill. The Arch springs from the Western Wall and is still visible underneath later buildings set against the Wall. The name Wilson's Arch is also used to denote the hall that it partially covers, which is currently used as a synagogue. This hall opens towards the Western Wall Plaza at the Plaza's northeast corner, so that it appears on the left of the prayer section of the Western Wall to visitors facing the Wall.

The Arch once spanned 42 feet, supporting a bridge that carried both a street and an aqueduct. Although the arch in its present form has been dated to the Early Arab period, its origins are attributed to the Second Temple period, with the ground level during the Second Temple period being lower by some 3 meters than its height during the period of the Early Arab…