Huldah Gates

The Huldah Gates are a pair of ancient entrances in the southern retaining wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, historically used to access the raised platform of the Temple Mount. The name derives from the biblical prophetess Huldah and has long been applied to these southern gate structures.

Architecturally the complex includes the so-called Double Gate and Triple Gate - vaulted passageways that led from street level up onto the Temple platform during the Second Temple period. Both gate passages are now sealed; their internal arches, stairways and masonry survive behind later construction and can be seen in the southern wall and in archaeological exposures.

The gateway passages were constructed or refurbished in the Herodian and later periods to facilitate large numbers of pilgrims entering the Temple precinct. Over subsequent centuries the visible entrances were blocked and new surface-level access points were created.

Geographically the Huldah Gates sit in the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, above the area historically associated with the southern approach used by pilgrims.

• Date and preservation: The entrances are part of the southern retaining wall of the Temple Mount and date to the Second Temple period with later modifications; the arches and vaulted passageways are preserved behind later fills and masonry.

What to See #

• Double Gate and Triple Gate: The Double Gate and the Triple Gate are the two ancient passageways in the southern retaining wall of the Temple Mount; both are now sealed but their inner arches and passageways are visible from the wall and the area below.