The Royal Stoa (Hebrew: הסטיו המלכותי, romanized: Ha-stav ha-Malkhuti; also known as the Royal Colonnade, Royal Portico, Royal Cloisters, Royal Basilica or Stoa Basileia) was an ancient basilica constructed by Herod the Great during his renovation of the Temple Mount at the end of the first century BCE. Probably Herod's most magnificent secular construction, the three-aisled structure was described by Josephus as deserving "to be mentioned better than any other under the sun." A center of public and commercial activity, the Royal Stoa was the likely location of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple recounted in the New Testament. The Royal Stoa overlooked Jerusalem's residential and commercial quarters, and at its southwestern corner was the place from which a ram's horn was blown to announce the start of holy days. The Royal Stoa was destroyed by the Roman army during the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Its site is currently inaccessible to archaeologists since it is occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, artifacts from the Stoa have been recovered both from excavations at the foot of the platform and in secondary use in later constructions. This evidence has confirmed details given in the accounts of the historian Josephus, and has also allowed comparison of the Royal Stoa's decoration with that used in other, contemporaneous monumental buildings.

Temple Mount excavations

The former site of the Royal Stoa is now occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque
The site of the Royal Stoa is currently occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, and is therefore unavailable for archaeological exploration. Between 1968 and 1978, however, professor Benjamin Mazar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem carried out excavations at the foot of the southern wall. These uncovered over 400 architectural fragments in the destruction debris below the site of the Stoa, some of which were incorporated in secondary use in later Byzantine and Umayyad construction. Despite their fragmentary nature, these provide some of the largest and richest Second-Temple era assemblages ever found, a testament to the splendor described by Josephus.[3]

A photograph showing the corner of a high stone wall with several openings at the top, above which rise a minaret and a gray dome
The Al-Aqsa Mosque above the Temple Mount's southern Wall. On the left are the remains of Robinson's Arch
Finds include Corinthian capitals, Doric friezes and modillion cornices. The motifs featured on the fragments found occasionally match patterns witnessed in other Second-Temple era public buildings unearthed in the region, while others reflect unique architectural characteristics. These include floral motifs, rosettes, cable patterns similar to finds in the Hauran region of southern Syria and acanthus leaves featured in Roman architecture.

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