On only one occasion Josephus refers to the Central Valley as the Tyropoeon Valley which means “Valley of the Cheesemakers.”

Although, called a valley the Tyropoeon is actually a fold or depression between the different hills which rise from a massif. The main line of the Tyropoeon which runs south from the Damascus Gate which is still called the Valley Road (Tariq al-Wad).

circa 10 CE

During the Second Temple period the Tyropoeon Valley (identify), today filled up with a vast accumulation of debris, and almost a plain, was spanned by bridges, the most noted of which was Zion Bridge, which was probably the ordinary means of communication between the royal palace on Zion and the temple. Image depicts the City of David (right) and the lower city along the curvature of the Cheesemakers valley.

circa 10 CE

Acra
Most notable of the excavations in the valley is most probably the Acra (Givati Parking Lot Dig). In the Copper Scroll this valley is called in Hebrew the Outer Valley (3Q15 col.8, line 4). The name "των τυροποιων" (tōn tyropoiōn) possibly arose as an ancient mistranslation from Hebrew to the Greek of Josephus's book; Semitic languages use the same root for "outer" and "congeal".

circa 10 CE

Stepped Street
The stepped street, or the Jerusalem pilgrim road, is the Late Roman period street connecting the Temple Mount from its southwestern corner, to Jerusalem's southern gates of the time via the Pool of Siloam. It was used by ritual processions ascending from the pool to the Temple, Judaism's holiest site. The stepped street was built during the governorship of Pontius Pilate of New Testament fame.

circa 10 CE

Herodian Street
The Herodian Street is a small stretch of street located along the south-western corner of the Temple Mount. It acted as the marketplace for the pilgrims who came to visit the Temple. The shops were located along the both edges of the road. After removing the debris of later periods, the Herodian street running along the western wall of the Temple Mount was exposed in its full length. Some of the debris from the 70 CE destruction still lies near the bottom of the Temple Mount's enclosure wall.

circa 10 CE

Pool of Siloam
The Pool of Siloam was discovered in year 2004 near the southern end of the City of David. According to the Gospel of John, it was here, that Jesus healed the blind man. The pool was destroyed when the Romans entered Jerusalem in 70 CE to put down the First Jewish Revolt. Eventually, the pool site was covered with silt and its location lost. Archeological excavations revealed that the steps were part of the Pool of Siloam at the time of Jesus, its age confirmed by first-century Roman coins found in the pool. The pool itself is trapezoidal in shape, 225-feet wide, far larger than had been expected based on Eudocia’s pool.

circa 10 CE

Western Wall
The Western Wall of the Temple Mount rose up from the bottom of this valley to the height of 84 feet, where it was on a level with the area, and above this, and as a continuance of it, the wall of Solomon's cloister rose to the height of about 50 feet, "so that this section of the wall would originally present to view a stupendous mass of masonry scarcely to be surpassed by any mural masonry in the world."