Dung Gate

Dung Gate
Dung Gate
	Dung Gate
	Location in Old Jerusalem
General information
Town or city	Jerusalem
Coordinates	31°46′29″N 35°14′2″E / 31.77472°N 35.23389°E

The Dung Gate (also known as, Hebrew: שער האשפות Sha'ar Ha'ashpot, Gate of Silwan, Moroccan Gate, Arabic: باب المغاربة) is one of the gates in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in the 16th century.

The gate is situated near the southeast corner of the old city, southwest of the Temple Mount.

The gate is the closest to the Western Wall and is a main passage for vehicles coming out of the Old City and for buses headed to the Western Wall. It was originally much smaller, but was enlarged in 1952, after the Old City came under Jordanian control in 1948. After its capture by Israel in 1967, architect Shlomo Aronson was commissioned to renovate this gate.^[1] Directly behind the gate lies the entrance to the Western Wall compound.

Name

The name Sha'ar Ha'ashpot appears in the Book of Nehemiah 2:13-14. It is probably named after the residue that was taken from the Jewish Temple into the Valley of Hinnom, where it was burned. This ancient "Dung Gate" may not have been in the same location as the modern gate.

The name Moroccan gate (Bab al-Magharibeh) refers to the Moroccan Quarter, which was situated near the area until 1967.

The name Silwan Gate refers to the village of Silwan that lies just south of the gate.