Major Archeological Find In Jerusalem

The site, which has been unearthed during a six-month 'salvage' excavation in the Givati parking lot just outside the Dung Gate ahead of the planned expansion of the Western Wall car park, also indicates that the ancient City of David was much larger than previously thought, said archeologist Doron Ben-Ami, who is directing the dig at the site.

The "monumental" edifice, which was destroyed by the Romans when they demolished the Second Temple in 70 CE, was dated to the end of the Second Temple Period by pottery and stone vessels, as well as an assortment of coins from that time, Ben-Ami said.

According to the director of the dig, the elaborate edifice, which is an anomaly in the landscape of the Lower City at the end of the Second Temple period - which was marked with modest buildings - was probably a palace built by Queen Helena, a wealthy Iraqi aristocrat who converted to Judaism and moved to Jerusalem with her sons.

Helena became known for her generosity in helping the city's poor during a famine, and was buried in Jerusalem.

The archeologists carrying out the dig have not yet found any inscription to identify the building they uncovered, but the excavation director said that there was a "high probability" that the site was indeed the 2,000-year-old palace of Queen Helena.

Jerusalem's rich history can be found in the layers of dirt on which the modern City of Jerusalem is built. Any kind of construction work in the city will uncover potentially significant archeological ruins, and in this case, the scientists have discovered a palace dating from the Second Temple period.

I know the area where this find was made, as it being used as a parking lot with access to the Kotel through the Dung Gate. Millions of people have crossed that area without knowing what lay underneath their feet.