What Did the Temple Mount Look Like during the Reign of Herod?

The Second Temple was built in Jerusalem by returnees from Babylonian exile around 516 BCE. Some 500 years later, King Herod undertook a program of large-scale renovations and expansions, which included the still-standing Western Wall. As part of a series of depictions of the Mount throughout ancient times, the archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer has created drawings of the results. He writes: