Sha'ar Ha'ashpot
The Dung Gate
Other Names:
- Dung Gate;
- Gate of Silwan;
- Mograbi Gate
Origin of Names:
- Out of respect for the holiness of the Old City, rubbish (ashpah) was never allowed to accumulate and was removed through this gate.
- The quivers for arrows (ashpot) were stored in the nearby arsenal;
- It was sometimes called the Silwan Gate as it is situated near to Silwan village.
- Arabs call it Mugrabi Gate since the Mugrabi Arab Quarter was near the gate and the Western Wall and Temple
Mount.
Location/Direction:
- The gate is located in the south-east of the Old City walls.
- It faces south in the direction of the valley of Kidron and Shiloach pool.
- It is close to the Gichon spring and is the entrance nearest to the Kotel Ma'aravi (Western Wall).
Distinctive Feature:
This is the smallest of all the gates and has the lowest archway. It is distinguished by two triangular shapes carved into its stonework and topped by an engraved flower.
Date:
1538-40
Today this is a very busy area used by both motor traffic and pedestrians visiting the Kotel.
The original gate existed from the time of the prophet Nehemiah who first mentions it by name:
" And I went by the gate of the valley, at night, toward the spring of the serpent and Dung Gate and I saw breaks in the walls of Jerusalem that were breached and the gates consumed with fire". (2:13).
