 According to the Hebrew Bible , Solomon 's Temple was built atop what is known as the Temple Mount in the 10th century BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE , and the Second Temple completed and dedicated in 516 BCE . Around 19 BCE Herod the Great began a massive expansion project on the Temple Mount . In addition to fully rebuilding and enlarging the Temple , he artificially expanded the platform on which it stood , doubling it in size . Today 's Western Wall formed part of the retaining perimeter wall of this platform . In 2011 , Israeli archaeologists announced the surprising discovery of Roman coins minted well after Herod 's death , found under the foundation stones of the wall . The excavators came upon the coins inside a ritual bath that predates Herod 's building project , which was filled in to create an even base for the wall and was located under its southern section . This seems to indicate that Herod did not finish building the entire wall by the time of his death in 4 BCE . The find confirms the description by historian Josephus Flavius , which states that construction was finished only during the reign of King Agrippa II , Herod ’ s great @-@ grandson . Given Josephus ' information , the surprise mainly regarded the fact that an unfinished retaining wall in this area could also mean that at least parts of the splendid Royal Stoa and the monumental staircase leading up to it could not have been completed during Herod 's lifetime . Also surprising was the fact that the usually very thorough Herodian builders had cut corners by filling in the ritual bath , rather than placing the foundation course directly onto the much firmer bedrock . Some scholars are doubtful of the interpretation and have offered alternative explanations , such as , for example , later repair work . 
