Tyropoeon Valley

The Tyropoeon Valley (Greek, meaning "Valley of the Cheesemongers" or "of the cheesemakers") is the name given by the Jewish historian Josephus to the central valley that ran north-south through ancient Jerusalem, separating the western hill (the upper city) from the eastern hill containing the temple mount. The valley was much deeper in antiquity than it appears today; centuries of accumulated debris have largely filled it in, making its original topography difficult to appreciate without archaeological excavation. The Tyropoeon was traversed by a series of bridges connecting the western city to the temple precinct, the most impressive of which was supported by the large arch whose remains were identified by Edward Robinson in the nineteenth century (Robinson's Arch). The valley served as a commercial artery of the city and its name suggests the presence of a market district there. Josephus describes it in detail in his account of the topography of Jerusalem in Jewish War 5.4.1, making it one of the few Jerusalem geographical features known primarily from extra-biblical sources.