Pontius Pilate judged Jesus in the courtyard of the Antonia Fortress on the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. At the time, the courtyard was open to the sky, while now it is covered over to be the foundation for housing above. Thankfully, they preserved the Roman courtyard pavement so pilgrims could see it. The head clearance was a little low for Evan, but I’m so glad we could see this place. It is up there with my favorites for sure.
So if you remember the cistern pools from under the Antonia Fortress from the other day when I blogged about the Western Wall, this is the other side of the same cistern. We went into a building that used to be a school that Mike went to as a child, and in the basement is this cistern. We walk around down there a bit, and then there is this small room with these tiny displays.
Hand lamps, a little bigger than in Jesus’ day.
Pitchers and urns found in the area. Pretty sure all of these would be Roman, but don’t quote me.
So on top of the box that is closest to the camera, there are animal knuckle bones. The little white paper in front of the box says that knuckle bones were used for games of the King. These are the kinds of games that would have been played to cast lots for Jesus’ clothes. Wait for it…
More game pieces and other objects from the area…ok, now check THIS out.
This is an area on the floor here that has been preserved because it is like a board for the Game of the King. This is how they cast lots to determine who would get Jesus’ garment. Whoa.
It’s hard to read, but the sign shows it a little. This is amazing guys.
This sidewalk or road with these kinds of grooves in it is for sure Roman from the time of Jesus. This mosaic is nearby.
This is the courtyard area where Jesus was judged by Pilate, for sure. We had a devotion and quiet time here. This area is also where the Stone of Flagellation would have been taken from (and placed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.).
This is absolutely Roman stone, dated to the time of Jesus.
I would have to say this is probably on my top 5 favorites. It’s really hard to choose, but even when we were sitting around talking the other day as a group, many said this was one of their favorites from memory. It was breathtaking.
Next up, St Anne’s cathedral and the pools of Bethesda.