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Making due allowance for adaptations in the design to satisfy Jewish ritual and Biblical tradition, Herod’s Temple bore the typical hallmarks of Roman imperial architecture in the eastern Mediterranean. Jerusalem’s Temple Mount was the largest temple complex in classical antiquity. It is estimated that over one million cubic feet of earth were removed from the area of the platform’s northwest corner, shown at far left in the drawing, to lower it and provide a level surface on which to build. The lower southeastern corner, at the far right, on the other hand, was raised on earth fill and underground vaults.