It is the only remains of the retaining wall surrounding the temple mount the site of the first and second temples of jerusalem held to be uniquely holy by the ancient jews.
Temple mount and wailing wall.
For 500 years until the muslims captured jerusalem this whole southwest area where the wailing wall the kotel was known as a garbage dump.
Which the roman army left as a monument to their power as it is all that remained after they desolated the rest of the city in 70 a d.
For muslims temple mount is also known as the noble sanctuary or haram al sharif.
The women of the new roman city built over the ruins of jerusalem were instructed by roman law to take their garbage to the dump daily wall of the old temple site.
The western wall aka the wailing wall or the kotel is the most religiously significant site in the world for the jewish people.
In a broader sense western wall can refer to the entire 488 metre long 1 601 ft retaining wall on the western side of the temple mount.
Incensed and fearing that the tunnel the israelis began digging starting from the wailing wall and under the temple mount shortly after the war was over was designed to undermine the foundations of al aqsa mosque islam s third holiest site after the mosques in mecca and medina in saudi arabia palestinians and other muslims rioted.
The first temple was destroyed by the babylonians in 587 586 bce and the second temple was destroyed by the romans in 70 ce.