Cardo

Cities in the ancient Roman empire were designed with one main road that ran north-south through the middle of the city. The street was called the Cardo and was lined with merchants, shops and vendors; it was the center of the economic life of the city.

The Cardo in Jerusalem was built around 70 A.D. but it was not until the 1970s that its ruins were excavated. The excavation efforts were driven mainly by a mosaic called the Madaba Map, which is located in the floor of a Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan. A copy of the mosaic is on display in the excavated Cardo in Jerusalem.