 The Western Wall , Wailing Wall or Kotel ( Hebrew : הַכֹּתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי , translit . : HaKotel HaMa 'aravi ; Ashkenazic pronunciation : Kosel ; Arabic : حائط البراق , translit . : Ḥā 'iṭ al @-@ Burāq , translat . : the Buraq Wall , or al @-@ Mabka : the Place of Weeping ) is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem . It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall , known also in its entirety as the " Western Wall " . The wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple by Herod the Great , which resulted in the encasement of the natural , steep hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount , in a large rectangular structure topped by a huge flat platform , thus creating more space for the Temple itself and its auxiliary buildings . 
