2,420 documented archaeological sites in and around Jerusalem, from the First Temple period through the Ottoman era. The Old City alone has more excavation in active progress than any other square kilometer in the world. The surrounding Judean hills add Hasmonean fortresses, Byzantine monasteries, Crusader castles, and Ottoman caravanserai.
"The Old City of Jerusalem is built on top of three cities. You are walking on one of them right now."
Jerusalem is the most archaeologically dense urban kilometer on the planet. Below the Cardo of the modern Christian Quarter is the Cardo of Aelia Capitolina (Roman, 130 CE), and below that the streets of Herodian Jerusalem (1st century BCE), and below that the City of David (Iron Age, 10th-6th c. BCE). Every modern construction permit in the Old City triggers a salvage excavation. Most of what gets recorded never reaches the public; what does is the visible portion of an iceberg.
Atika has 2,420 sites mapped across the Jerusalem region, of which roughly 600 are within the Old City walls. The famous ones are well-signed and ticketed. The 1,800 outside the walls, in the Kidron Valley, on the Mount of Olives, in the Judean Hills around the city, are mostly accessible on foot, free, and unmarked. Many are visible only because somebody mapped them. Until now.
The Old City is one square kilometer with 600 documented sites; the Jerusalem hills extend the region another 60 kilometers in every direction with 1,800 more.
Six representative entries from inside and outside the Old City walls. The catalogue covers all eight historical layers.
The original Jerusalem, occupied since the Bronze Age, expanded under David and Solomon. Hezekiah's Tunnel (701 BCE) still walkable. Active excavations continue. Located on the eastern slope of the Old City, walkable from the Dung Gate.
Underground continuation of the Western Wall, exposing Herodian masonry blocks of the Temple Mount retaining wall, including the largest known stone (570 tonnes). Tunnel runs 320 metres under the Muslim Quarter.
Herod the Great's fortress-palace, conical artificial hill 12 km south of Jerusalem. Round palace at the summit, residential quarter on the slopes, Herod's tomb (rediscovered 2007). Still being excavated.
Active Greek Orthodox monastery in the Kidron Valley, founded 483 CE. Cliffside complex, continuously inhabited for 1,500 years. Men only inside; women view from across the gorge. The walk from the road is 2 km.
Ottoman gate (1538) built by Suleiman the Magnificent on Roman foundations (Aelia Capitolina, 130 CE). The arch of the original Roman gate is visible at street level beside the modern entry. Three layers in fifteen vertical metres.
Hellenistic-period rock-cut tomb complex on the northern Jerusalem ridge. Tomb of Helena of Adiabene (1st century CE) is the largest. Walkable from the Old City; 25 minutes north on foot.
Start at the City of David archaeological park. Walk Hezekiah's Tunnel (waist-deep water, bring shorts). Continue up to the Temple Mount via the Dung Gate. End at the Davidson Center for the southern wall excavations.
Western Wall Tunnels in the morning (book ahead). Cardo and Burnt House for Herodian residential quarter. Walk the Via Dolorosa for the Crusader-era and Byzantine Christian layer. End at the Holy Sepulchre.
Drive south to Herodion (1 hour) for Herod's fortress-palace. Continue to Mar Saba in the Kidron Valley if time. North side: Tombs of the Sanhedrin and Tomb of Helena. Atika pings you at each as you drive.
Jerusalem connects east to the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea, west to the Coastal Plain, south to the Negev, north to the Galilee.
Continuous occupation. Jerusalem has been inhabited for ~5,000 years; most ancient cities in the region were depopulated and reoccupied selectively. The Old City has 600 documented sites in one square kilometer because every century built on top of the previous one without erasing it.
As archaeological sites with their religious context labelled, not as religious narratives. The Temple Mount entry shows the Herodian retaining wall, the 7th-century Dome of the Rock, and the 8th-century Al-Aqsa with their respective dates, builders, and access rules. We do not take political positions.
Most of the 2,420 are not on the tourist circuit. The 30 famous Old City stops cover the headline sites; the other ~2,390 are mostly in the Judean Hills, the Kidron Valley, and East Jerusalem neighborhoods, accessible on foot or by short drive, mostly free, mostly unsigned. That is what Atika is for.
Yes. Hezekiah's Tunnel is walkable (waist-deep water in places, 530 metres, bring waterproof shoes). The dry alternative tunnel runs parallel. The Pool of Siloam at the southern end is only partially excavated. Tickets at the visitor centre.
Sites in Area C with archaeological significance are tagged separately and labelled with current access status. Atika does not take political positions; we surface the archaeology and label disputed status when relevant. Examples in the dataset include Herodion, Qumran, Tel Hebron, Tell Balata (Shechem). Some require permits or are inaccessible at certain times.
Hours data sourced from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israel Antiquities Authority, refreshed monthly. Holiday closures vary; check the Parks Authority site for festival weeks. National parks close earlier on Friday afternoons.
Three days for the famous-sites tour. A week for Old City + Judean Hills depth. Two weeks for the full archaeological pass including Bethlehem, Hebron-area, and the Mar Saba route.
2,420 sites in the Jerusalem region. 12,000 across Israel. Proximity alerts when you walk or drive near one. Offline. Audio narration for Pro.