An arcature is a term given originally to a market with a series of stores that have many doors with arches above them.[1] It refers to an architectural form where a number of columns are organized in a straight row under arches lifting the ceiling of the building. This kind of structure is often used in religious structures namely in the construction of mosques .[2]
From a distance, the structure often looks like a chain of scales–and , perhaps this is why Jerusalemites often refer to them as such. .[3]
Purpose
Arcatures usually surround the plaza of a mosque, and together with the mosque’s walls forms a long hallway or corridor. The main purpose behind using these columns is to elevate the ceiling to the highest point possible in order to maximize the amount of natural light in the space[4]
Arcatures of Al-Aqsa
Al-Aqsa has eight arcatures that surround it on either side of the mosque one in the east, two in the north, two in the south, and three in the west. One can reach the Dome of the Rock by ascending the wide stairs that pass through them.[5]
The arcatures were constructed and renovated at different points in Islamic history. The western, eastern and southern arcatures are considered the oldest and date back to the Umayyad dynasty, while the northern ones go back to the Fatimid and Mamluk eras.[6] Al-Aqsa arcatures were restored many times during different Islamic eras.[7]
[1]Hassan Mustafa Khater, Al-Quds: the Educational Pictorial Atlas (Jordan: International Jerusalem Center for Media, International Studies and Documentation, 2013), 118 and “Arcatures of Al-Aqsa,” last modified December 9, 2013, http://alqudsgateway.ps/wp/?p=226
