Tyropoeon Valley

This is an article from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. This article is written from a nineteenth century Christian viewpoint, and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries in Biblical scholarship. Please help the Wikipedia by bringing this article up to date.

Tyropoeon Valley (i.e., "Valley of the Cheesemongers") is the name given by Josephus the historian to the valley or rugged ravine[?] which in ancient times separated Mount Moriah[?] from Mount Zion[?]. This valley, now filled up with a vast accumulation of rubbish, and almost a plain, was spanned by bridges, the most noted of which was Zion Bridge, which was probably the ordinary means of communication between the royal palace on Zion and the temple. A fragment of the arch of this bridge (called "Robinson's Arch"), where it projects from the sanctuary wall, was discovered by Edward Robinson[?] in 1839. This arch was destroyed by the Romans when Jerusalem was taken.

The western wall of the temple area rose up from the bottom of this valley to the height of 84 feet, where it was on a level with the area, and above this, and as a continuance of it, the wall of Solomon's cloister rose to the height of about 50 feet, "so that this section of the wall would originally present to view a stupendous mass of masonry scarcely to be surpassed by any mural masonry in the world."

From Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)