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This is a massive structure, a double gateway, projecting from the eastern wall into the area of the
Harem-esh-Sherif (the Noble Sanctuary), in which stands the great mosque. Its floor is several feet
below the level of the area. After the second revolt and total ruin of the Jewish people, Hadrian
(a.d. 136) built a new city, which he called iElia; and, for the purpose of offering the last insult to an
unhappy nation, he raised a temple to Jupiter on the site of the Temple of Solomon. The style of the
Golden Gate appears to refer it to this period; the external front and arches are unquestionably of
Roman origin; and of the interior it is evident, that " a central row of noble Corinthian columns and a
groined roof, had once formed a stately portico of Roman workmanship."1

The name " Porta Aurea," cannot be followed higher than the 10th century. This gate was found
walled up in the time of the Crusades, but was then opened once a-year, on Palm Sunday, from a tradition
that through it our Lord made his entry into Jerusalem as King; a tradition probably arising from the
stateliness of its architecture. By the Moslem, however, it is kept constantly walled up, from a singular
dread, that through it a king shall enter, who is to make himself master not only of Jerusalem, but of
the globe. And that their vigilance, at least, may not be wanting to avert the conquest, they keep a
sentinel constantly on duty in a tower flanking the gateway.2

1 Bononi and Cathenvood referred to by Eobinson, Biblical Researches, vol. i. p. 438. » Stephens, p. 94.