Face-lift for Lions Gate

December 3, 2012

Project engineers discovered that the sentry’s post situated above the gate’s entrance, which was where the soldier guarding the tower once stood, was in danger of collapse. The sentry’s post was entirely dismantled, broken stones in it were replaced, and it was returned and secured to its original place on the wall. The two “lions,” which are actually panthers, carved on either side of the gate also underwent conservation and cleaning.

Photo by IAA/Avi Mashiah Work on the walls was also extensive. Each one of the stones in the wall was photographed with a laser, documented, and studied. Approximately 1,000 deteriorating stones were stabilized, and 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) of stones in the wall were dismantled and rebuilt due to vegetation that had taken root in the stones. Exposed areas on top of the wall were sealed to prevent the penetration of water.

With the completion of this important project, visitors to the Old City can continue to enjoy the splendor and strength of the walls, just as people enjoyed them when they were built 500 years ago by the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman I.

Source: From an Israel Antiquities Authority press release