Roman Cardo and Broad Wall

The Cardo was the main street in Ancient Roman cities, running from north to south and lined with a row of columns on each side. The Cardo of Jerusalem begins at the Damascus Gate in the north and crosses the city southwards until the area of the Zion Gate. Murals decorate modern walls giving a picture of what the Cardo may have looked like in the past.
Nearby the Cardo in the Jewish quarter is the remains of the Broad Wall. The wall was built during Hezekiah’s expansion of the city. Jews from the northern tribes of Israel, who had been overrun by the Assyrians in 721 BC, migrated down to Judah and the city of Jerusalem for protection at this time. They settled outside the city walls to the west. To protect them and their residences Hezekiah fortified the western part of this newly expanded city around 721 BC with a wall. The uncovered remains of this wall are 23 feet wide and 213 feet long. The original wall is estimated to have been about 23 feet high. The remains of this wall were excavated in the 1970s.Read more