Cardo

The cardo maximus was the "hinge" or axis of the city, derived from Greek καρδίᾱ, kardia ("heart") and as such was generally lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life.

Hohe Strasse and Schildergasse in Cologne, Germany, are examples of streets that have maintained their course and function of cardo and decumanus maximus to this day.

The main north–south thoroughfare, the cardo maximus, was originally a paved avenue approximately 22.5 meters wide (roughly the width of a six lane highway) which ran southward from the site of the Damascus Gate, terminating at an unknown point.

The southern addition to the cardo, constructed under Justinian in the 6th century AD, extended the road further south to connect the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with the newly built Zion Gate.

[5] The shaded porticoes provided separation of pedestrian traffic from wheeled carts, shelter from the elements, space for small-scale commerce, as well as opportunities for residents and visitors to gather and interact.

Their plan was based on the hope that archeologists would find remains of the southern end of the cardo, an extension of the north–south Roman thoroughfare built during the Byzantine era (324–638).

Time was of the essence and mounting pressure to repopulate the Jewish Quarter led to the construction of a superstructure which allowed the residential buildings to be built.

By 1980, 37 housing units and 35 shops were built, incorporating archaeological finds such as a Hasmonean wall from the second century BC and rows of Byzantine columns.

The combination of old and new is also visible on the Street of the Jews, where the shops have been set into old vaults and the gallery is covered by an arched roof containing small apertures to allow for natural lighting.Beit She'an was one of a group of 10 Hellenistic cities known as Decapolis on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Syria and Judea.

The cardo maximus connected the forum to another complex that extended from the present Al-Azariyeh building to Riad Al Solh Square.

[14] In the seaside resort of Poreč, Croatia, both cardo maximus and decumanus have retained their original names and still serve as the main streets of the historic town centre.