today as Robinson's Arch, and up a grand staircase to the majestic Second Temple, as it stood before the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D. The computer program, like a flight simulator, takes the audience into the wide plaza surrounding the Temple. The royal portico adorns one side of the courtyard with four rows of columns. The square sanctuary, decorated with a gold frieze, rises high above the covered heads of virtual Jewish pilgrims on the other side. Not every detail was clear when they reconstructed the Temple in the computer model. Though he led excavations near the Temple Mount, archaeologist Ronny Reich said he had conflicting information, or not enough, and had to use educated guesswork to complete the model, answering questions posed by Lisa Snyder, a computer expert with the UCLA Urban Simulation Team. "I couldn't leave a white area and say, 'I don't know'," said Reich. "The crowd would go crazy from a very empty picture." He based his conclusions on historical sources, such as religious texts, archaeological evidence and his knowledge about the architecture of the period. Snyder, 39, from Los Angeles, said she spent 1,500 hours developing the computer simulation, taking more than 900 digital photographs of the area around the Temple Mount. Emerging from the dark chambers, visitors face 21st century reality, including some of the structures pictured in the simulation. A few hundred meters (yards) away is the Western Wall, one of the remaining structures of the Temple compound, situated under the Dome of the Rock Mosque. For Reich, aware of the political questions his work poses, the project gave him a perspective on life and history. "There were turbulent days in ancient Jerusalem as well," said Reich. "A lot happened in this city in history, and maybe this (center) will help us learn a lesson about troubles." Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or ...
