Cardo Maximus

About Cardo Maximus

“Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” Zechariah 8:4-5.

The cities of the ancient Roman Empire had a special practice of decorating main roads with impressive stone columns. These streets were called “Cardo” and Jerusalem, just like any other Roman city, had a Cardo of its own.

Jerusalem Cardo

The Jerusalem Cardo is clearly pictured on the famous Madaba Map, the earliest graphic representation of Jerusalem. The Cardo is depicted with two rows of colonnades running the length of the city from north to south. 

History of the Cardo

In the 2nd century, the Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina and added the Cardo in the north of the city at Damascus Gate. In the 6th century, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I extended the Cardo further south to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Zion Gate. The Cardo had a central lane, open to the sky, for the passage of carriages and animals. The entire roadway was flanked with colonnades, covered walkways and a shaded arcade. In the 12th century, the Crusaders built a bazaar along part of the road.

Southern Part of the Excavated Cardo

The exposed section of the Cardo, a 200m stretch and 4m below the present-day street level, reveals the Byzantine Cardo level. Excavations reveal beautiful columns, ornate capitals and large flagstones that paved the street. Part of the Cardo has been restored to show how the stalls and shops would have been in the ancient times. The shopping section of the Cardo is beneath a beautifully vaulted ceiling and modern stores are housed in the ancient Crusader shops that line the Cardo.

Interesting Facts

  • The Cardo Maximus was the name given to the north-south thoroughfare of Roman and Byzantine cities. “Cardo” means “heart” and the Cardo ran through the “heart” of the city.
  • The Madaba Map, also known as the Madaba Mosaic Map, is part of a floor mosaic in the early Byzantine Church of St George at Madaba, Jordan. The Map depicts parts of the Middle East. Part of it contains the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem.
  • Visitors to the Cardo can see a replica of the Madaba Map and a large mural painting by students from the French School of Art Creation de la Cite. The mural depicts the Cardo as it would have been 1,500 years ago.

Office Location

1 Vista Exchange Green #01-01 Singapore 138617
Meeting at our office is by appointment only.

Contact Phone

Tel: +65 6295 5193

Office Hours

Monday – Friday, 10am – 6pm
Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday

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