Since the days of Ancient Rome, “Cardo” has referred to the city's main street. It always runs from north to south and lies perpendicular to Decumanus Street (“West – East”). What remained of the Roman Cardo in Jerusalem was discovered only in 1948, when the Jewish Quarter was being reconstructed after the destruction inflicted by the Jordanians.
Cardo Street ran along the Temple Mount. Today, this is the site of an archaeological park, better known as the “Davidson Center.” An interesting fact: in 2001, a meeting was supposed to take place there between the then Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon and the leader of the French-Jewish community. For this occasion, unprecedented security measures were taken: the site was surrounded by a triple security cordon, and the main security service headquarters was located right on Cardo Street. And imagine the guards' surprise when, right under their noses, two Arab teenagers climbed out of a well!
The thing is, beneath Cardo Street runs a sewer tunnel built by the ancient Romans 19 centuries ago. Israeli police officers walked through it and ended up several hundred meters from that well - deep inside the Arab village of Silwan. Because of this incident, it was decided to move the prime minister's meeting to a place that was less historic and more predictable. And this tunnel, like many other tunnels of Jerusalem, was sealed off with iron grates and equipped with surveillance sensors.
