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ON THE COVER: The Golden Gate, located in the east wall of Jerusalem’s Old City. Both entrances to this ancient gateway were blocked centuries ago, perhaps by Ottoman Turks or perhaps earlier, by Arabs—to keep out Crusaders or, as legend has it, to prevent the Jewish Messiah and Elijah the prophet from entering Jerusalem on Judgment Day.

The iron fence around Moslem graves in front of the gate was erected recently, after BAR correspondent James Fleming accidentally disturbed these graves and discovered another gate beneath the Golden Gate. Determining the date and builder of this lower gate is difficult and, in the end, uncertain, but Fleming expertly assesses all the clues in his fascinating discussion, “The Undiscovered Gate Beneath Jerusalem’s Golden Gate.”