When people picture the city of Jerusalem, they usually think of the historic Western Wall, or the Old City, or the Temple Mount crowned with the Golden Dome of the Rock. But people on our tour were surprised to learn that the original city of Jerusalem lay just south of the Temple Mount on a small spur of land that encompassed about only ten acres.

Crammed with houses and punctured with archaeological digs, the original area of Jerusalem looks much different today than it did three thousand years ago when King David conquered it.

Today, this part of Jerusalem retains the name, “The City of David,” and offers a number of archeological interests that relate to the monarch. The best way to view the area is to ascend the stairs just inside the entrance to the Visitor’s Center and stand atop the observation platform.

Flanked on two sides by steep valleys, the ancient City of David enjoyed a tremendous military advantage—making it relatively easy to defend. At the summit, a stepped-stone structure represents one of the largest Iron Age constructions ever excavated, dating from the 12th Century BC. Many archeologists believe it likely supported the palace of King David, the ruins of which are partially visible after descending some stairs.

From the vantage on the platform, it’s plain to see how David could easily have looked down over the homes built on the slope below him and seen Bathsheba bathing that fateful evening. The modern-day village of Silwan, just across the Kidron Valley from the City of David, has its homes constructed in a similar way.

Two relatively recent finds are nothing short of thrilling. In 2004 Reich and Shukrun found the first-century Pool of Siloam (known as the lower pool). They also recently discovered a road that led from this major water source up to the Temple Mount. First-century Jews would have used this road during their pilgrim feasts—most notably during Succot. Both the road and the drainage system are available for visitors to view.

Not surprisingly, a number of archaeologists today express their doubts that the entire City of David ever was included in the original Jerusalem. But the conspicuous location of the Gihon Spring seems a hard fact to sidestep. Moreover, the discovery of Warren’s Shaft by Charles Warren in 1867 and the fortifications around the nearby Spring House reveal that the locals clearly made use of the spring in David’s day. It seems far more likely that this small area of land was the same place David conquered.

Of course, the city expanded to the north during David’s time when he purchased the hill that would become the Temple Mount under Solomon’s rule. This area the Bible identifies as Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham bound his son Isaac in order to offer him to the Lord (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1). During the time of Hezekiah, the city enlarged again to encompass the Western Hill in order to house and protect fleeing refugees from the northern tribes after their kingdom fell to Assyria.

The walls of Jerusalem have expanded and contracted through the centuries like the breathing of a living being. Arguably the most important city in history had its infancy in an area that today hardly reflects its grandeur.

Jesus was like that. So are we.

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Here’s a question: What major site in Jerusalem can a visitor see without wasting daylight but that still requires men to wear a hat?

(Okay, so you could wear a yarmulke instead of a hat. And really, most men remove the hat after ten minutes anyway.)

Answer: The Western Wall tunnel. Our group absolutely loved walking through this place! We toured the tunnel after the sun went down.

When you say the words “Western Wall,” most folks think of the Western Wall plaza, the place where bar- and bat-mitzvahs regularly occur and where soldiers are inducted. It’s the spot where ultra- and orthodox Jews come to pray—as well as many tourists—and the place of national prayer gatherings. It’s Judaism’s most sacred site.

Solomon built the original temple, and the Babylonians destroyed it in 586 BC. After the Jews’ return from exile, Zerubbabel helped rebuild the temple. Herod the Great greatly expanded it in the first century BC—though the construction continued into the first century—decades after Herod’s death. The stones visible in the tunnel tour date from Herod’s time and represent the western section of the massive retaining wall that supported the base of the Second Temple. But these treasures weren’t always visible.

Nineteenth century scholars struggled to understand the dimensions of the Western Wall. Between 1864 and 1870, British explorers Charles Wilson and Charles Warren discovered the area just north of today’s prayer plaza; an arch and a gate were named after each of them, respectively. Wilson’s Arch looms twenty-five feet above the ground—though the original height was closer to seventy-five feet. The arch covers a large room where Jewish men can study and pray beside the Western Wall.

As our group made its way in the Tunnel Tour, along the full length of the Wall—a total of 1500 feet—we observed bits of archaeology from the first century. Descending some steps we came to a massive stone that represents part of the “master course” of stones. One of these stones measures forty-four feet long, ten feet high, and more than twelve feet deep. Weighing in at 570 tons, it remains the largest of its kind in the Middle East. Every first-timer’s jaw drops when he or she sees it. Mine still drops.

A brief video presentation explained how first-century workers maneuvered the massive stones into place through a system of pulleys. Simply a marvel of engineering.

Traveling parallel with the Western Wall, hands rubbed the stones that bore Herod’s signature relief along its edges. Plexiglas flooring allowed us a peek at the aqueduct that ran underground, with the ceiling of the tunnel now high above us. The tour dead-ended at the Strouthian Pool, beneath the site of the Antonia Fortress. The pool’s name means “lark,” because, like the tiny bird, the pool(s) represented the smallest public pools in Jerusalem at that time.

I can’t imagine a better use of time after the sun goes down.