Herodian architecture

Many of his projects often combined multiple purposes, incorporating ceremonial and administrative spaces, storage, water facilities, baths, swimming pools, and fortifications.

Emphasis was also placed on integrating water features and greenery, utilizing local materials like kurkar in Caesarea and limestone in desert regions.

Concurrently, Herod imported exotic materials, such as volcanic sand from Italy for Caesarea, and employed foreign craftsmen for intricate decorations and the opus reticulatum technique.

[1] Herod introduced numerous architectural innovations and construction techniques in his buildings, such as the domes inside the Double Gate to the Temple Mount.

In line with contemporary Jewish customs, Herod generally avoided the representation of human and animal figures, even in the closed and private parts of his palaces, but there were a few exceptions.

Recent findings suggest that the Temple Mount walls and Robinson's Arch may not have been completed until at least 20 years after his death during the reign of Herod Agrippa II.

Once moved to the building site, further fine chiseling was done and the blocks were hauled into place using ramps, cranes and crow bars.

The origins of this margin-cutting style predate Herod, as witnessed by the Hellenistic architecture of Alexandria, Asia Minor, and Greece itself, as well as by examples in the Levant (e.g., the palace of the Sons of Tuvia at Iraq, el-Amir in Jordan (near Amman), dating from at least the 3rd century BC).

It has been observed that this distinctive stone-dressing style serves as a decorative theme on Second Temple period ossuaries found in the Jerusalem area.