Stratum III. A smoothed bedrock surface (L110; c. 1 × 4 m; Fig. 4) was exposed in the southeastern part of the excavation area. Cracks in the bedrock and stones inserted into the cracks gave the surface an appearance of a pavement. The pottery that was found on Surface 110, in the fill above it (L109) and in the fill within an intrusive pit (L111) dates to the period immediately following the suppression of the first Jewish Revolt against Rome in 70 CE. It includes basins (Fig. 5:1–3), a cooking pot (Fig. 5:4), a casserole (Fig. 5:5), storage jars (Fig. 5:6–8) and jugs (Fig. 5:9, 10). Hundreds of tiles testify to the presence of the Tenth Legion, although only one imbrex roof tile was stamped (Fig. 5:11). Of the nine coins found on Surface 110 and in Fill 109, the four earliest ones (Table 1:1–4) were of Antiochus IV, Alexander Jannaeus, Archelaus and Augustus. The first was struck in the mint of ‛Akko-Ptolemais, whereas the other three—in Jerusalem. Four more coins date to the last years of the Second Temple period: two of Agrippa I (Table 1:5, 6) and two of Claudius (Table 1:7, 8); all four were minted in Jerusalem. The last coin dates to shortly after the Second Temple period, to the reign of Trajan (Table 1:9).
 
Stratum II. A single course of a wall (W3; width 0.6 m; Figs. 2, 4 top center) that was part of a Byzantine structure was exposed near the northern end of the main excavation square. The wall, which ran in an east–west direction, was excavated along 0.8 m before disappearing into the eastern balk of the square. The wall was plastered on its southern face, and a crushed and pressed marl floor (L107) reached its northern face. The fill under the floor (L108) contained Byzantine-period pottery (Fig. 6:5). The pottery from Stratum II dates to the Byzantine (fifth–early seventh centuries CE). It includes a cooking pot (Fig. 6:1), a casserole (Fig. 6:2), a storage jar (Fig. 6:3), jugs (Fig. 6:4, 5) and a lamp (Fig. 6:6). Two coins found in the fill above Floor 107 (L101; Table 1:10, 12) date to the fourth century CE. Two additional fourth-century CE coins were found in the fill beneath a modern pipe (L106; Table 1:11) and in Stratum I (L100, see below; Table 1:13) along with with a follis of Maurice (Table 1:14).
 
Stratum I. Beneath a fill (L102) in the southwestern part of the excavation, walls and water cistern were discovered. The cistern (2.4 × 4.0 m) was partially constructed of stones and was plastered. Its opening (c. 1.0 × 1.5 m; see Fig. 7) was blocked. A segment of a stone-built wall (W2; width c. 0.5 m) extended in a slight southeastern direction and into the southern balk of the excavation area. Two walls in the southeastern corner of the excavation area (W1—width 0.6 m, height 0.9 m; W4) formed the southwestern corner of a room; only one stone of W4 was found. Their internal surfaces were plastered. A plaster floor of (L103) that did not reach either of the walls supposedly represents the room that lay between them. It was laid over irregular marble tiles, which were exposed only in a narrow probe along the eastern balk. Walls 1 and 4 along with Floor 103 were assigned to Stratum I on the basis of their orientation, their relative elevation, their building style and their relation to the cistern. The pottery found in the fill above Floor 103 (L100) dates to the Mamluk period (thirteenth–fourteenth centuries). It includes bowls (Fig. 7:7, 8) and a jar or jug (Fig. 7:9). Two Ayyūbid fulūs were recovered, one from Fill 102 (Table 1:16), another from the surface (Table 1:17). A Mamlūk fals (Table 1:18) is also associated with this stratum.
 
On the basis of the pottery and the coins, Stratum III dates to the years immediately following the destruction of the Second Temple, probably prior to the establishment of Aelia Capitolina. This was the period when the Tenth Legion Fretensis made its camp on the Western Hill of ancient Jerusalem. Stratum II dates to the Byzantine period, probably to the latter part of the sixth century CE or the early seventh century CE, when late Byzantine Jerusalem flourished under the influence of the emperor Justinian. Stratum I dates to the Mamluk period and might have continued in use into the Ottoman period.
 
Table 1. Coins
No.
Locus
Description
Mint
IAA No.
1
109
Antiochus IV (173/2–168 BCE)
‘Akko-Ptolemais
138382
2
109
Alexander Jannaeus (80/79 BCE and later)
Jerusalem
138381
3
110
Archelaus (4 BCE–6 CE)
Jerusalem
138387
4
110
Augustus (10/1 CE)
Jerusalem
138385
5
110
Agrippa I (41/2 CE)
Jerusalem
138383
6
110
Agrippa
Jerusalem
138388
7
110
Claudius (54 CE)
Jerusalem
138384
8
110
Claudius
Jerusalem
138386
9
109
Trajan (113/4 CE)
Alexandria
138380
10
101
383–395 CE
 
138375
11
106
383–395 CE
 
138379
12
101
4th c. CE
 
138376
13
100
4th c. CE
 
138373
14
100
Maurice (592/3 CE)
Antioch
138374
15
1
Umayyad fals (697–750 CE)
Ramla
138372
16
102
Al-Nasir Salih al-Din Yusuf, (1183? CE)
Aleppo
138377
17
Surf.
Ayyūbid, fals (13th c. CE)
Ramla
138389
18
105
Mamluk (14th c. CE)
 
138378