Solomon’s Stables

Underground vaults on the southern side of the Temple Mount supported Herod’s extension of the Temple esplanade. The vaults were supported by eighty-eight pillars resting on massive Herodian blocks—large, rectangular stones with protruding centers (called bosses) and cut, flat frames (called marginal drafts)—that divided the space into twelve rows of galleries. The galleries were originally used for storage space. The place received its distinctive name when Crusaders converted it into a stable for their horses in the twelfth century, associating it with Solomon’s First Temple. Some of the pillars still have extant metal rings used to tether horses. The space is currently being used as an underground prayer hall for Muslim worshipers.