Zedekiah's Cave, also known as Solomon's Quarries, is a underground meleke limestone quarry under the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem that runs the length of five city blocks. It was carved over a period of several thousand years and is a remnant of the largest quarry in Jerusalem.
Names
In addition to Zedekiah's Cave and Solomon's Quarries, this site has been called Zedekiah's Grotto, Suleiman's Cave, the Royal Caverns (or Royal Caves or Royal Quarries), and Korah's Cave. The Arabic name Migharat al-Kitan (or "Cotton Cave"), has also been used; the cavern is thought to have been once used as a storage place for cotton.
Geography
The entrance to Zedekiah's Cave is just beneath the Old City wall, between the Damascus and Herod Gates, about east of the former. Beyond the narrow entrance, the cave slopes down into a vast 300-foot-long auditorium-like chamber. Drops of water, known as "Zedekiah's tears", trickle through the ceiling. Beyond the "auditorium" are a series of artificial galleries hewn by ancient stonecutters into chaotic, sometimes bizarre, patterns and formations. Paths give access to every corner of the quarry system, which takes at least 30 minutes to explore thoroughly. Chisel marks are visible in many sections and in some galleries huge, nearly finished building blocks destined for some long-ago structure are locked into the rock where the stonecutters left them centuries ago. In a few places the stones are marked by Arabic, Greek, Armenian and English charcoal and engraved graffiti (e.g., "W. E. Blackstone Jan. 1889"). Several plaques explaining some of the myriad legends associated with the site have been mounted on the cave walls. From entrance to the farthest point, the cave extends about . Its maximum width is about and its depth is generally about below the street level of the Muslim Quarter, although there are several lower levels and blocked tunnels too.
History
Only the mouth of the cave is natural. The interior was carved over a period of several thousand years.
Herod the Great used the main quarry at Zedekiah's Cave for building blocks in the renovation of the Temple and its retaining walls, including what is known today as the Western (Wailing) Wall. Stone from the quarry may also have been used for the building projects of Herod Agrippa I. The subterranean quarry would have been usable in all seasons and any weather. The Roman Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes about the "Royal Caverns" of the Old City, which may have been a reference to Zedekiah's Cave. The midrash Numbers Rabbah mentions the cave: "One who observed the Sabbath in a cave, even though it be like the cave of Zedekiah, which was eighteen miles long, may walk through the whole of it".
Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566), the Ottoman sultan who built the present walls around the Old City, also apparently mined the quarry, ultimately sealing it up around 1540 because of security concerns. In 1854 the American missionary James Turner Barclay followed rumors of a cavern near the Damascus Gate, and, apparently with the help of his dog, discovered the entrance. Barclay and his two sons returned secretly at night and explored the cave.
In the mid-1880s, the cave was occupied by a German religious sect that was eventually evacuated by the German Consul in Jerusalem after many of the group fell ill from living in the damp, unsanitary conditions.
In 1873, French archeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau uncovered a crude carving of a winged creature in a small niche in the cave. It had two long narrow wings that opened like a pair of scissors, a curled tail and a bearded human head under a conical headdress. The site is now marked by a plaque.
Some minor quarrying occurred in 1907 when stone was obtained to be used in the Ottoman clock tower over the Jaffa Gate. Otherwise, the site was not frequented again until the 1920s, when it began to be something of a tourist attraction. In the late 20th century, the East Jerusalem Development Corporation carried out restorations of the cave. In the mid-1980s, The Jerusalem Foundation built paths and installed lights throughout the cavern, facilitating tourist access.
In 1968, a resident of East Jerusalem contacted the Israeli Ministry of Finance with a claim that, during the Ottoman period, his grandfather had buried three cases of gold in Zedekiah's Cave. He claimed he could show officials where the treasure was buried in return for 25% of the gold. The Ministry agreed, but, according to The Jerusalem Post, after digging a deep hole no gold was found.
The cave reopened to the public in 2023 after three years of renovation and the installation of an audiovisual show.