Solomon built the first temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in the sixth century. Herod the Great rebuilt the temple, virtually doubling the size of the earthen platform on which the temple would stand, the space of thirty football fields. The Romans did a thorough job of destroying this temple in 70 AD, such that the only visible remains are part of the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall), which is a retaining wall for the earthen platform upon which the temple rested. Some of the foundational, hand-hewn rock were 35 feet long and weighed 70 tons.
