Editing Dome of the Rock (section)

===Structure===
[[File:Dehio 10 Dome of the Rock Section.jpg|thumb|Cross section of the Dome (print from 1887, after the first detailed drawings of the Dome, made by the English artist [[Frederick Catherwood]] in 1833).<ref name= Catherwood>{{cite web |url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/architecture_features/alternating_currents/collections/domeoftherock/index.html |title= Drawings of Islamic Buildings: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem. |publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |quote= Until 1833 the Dome of the Rock had not been measured or drawn; according to [[Victor Wolfgang von Hagen|Victor von Hagen]], 'no architect had ever sketched its architecture, no antiquarian had traced its interior design...' On 13 November in that year, however, [[Frederick Catherwood]] dressed up as an Egyptian officer and accompanied by an Egyptian servant 'of great courage and assurance', entered the buildings of the mosque with his drawing materials... 'During six weeks, I continued to investigate every part of the mosque and its precincts.' Thus, Catherwood made the first complete survey of the Dome of the Rock, and paved the way for many other artists in subsequent years, such as [[William Harvey (artist)|William Harvey]], [[Ernest Richmond]] and [[Carl Friedrich Heinrich Werner]]. |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090309001858/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/architecture_features/alternating_currents/collections/domeoftherock/index.html |archive-date= 9 March 2009 }}</ref>]]

The Dome of the Rock's basic plan is essentially [[octagon]]al. It is capped at its center by a [[dome]], approximately {{cvt|20|m|ft}} in diameter, mounted on an elevated circular [[tholobate|drum]] standing on 16 supports (4 [[Pier (architecture)|pier]]s and 12 [[column]]s).<ref name=BRIT/> Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041125230355/http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/145.php The Dome of the Rock]}}. Glass Steel and Stone.</ref> The inner circular row of drum supports and the octagonal [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] create an inner [[ambulatory]] that encircles the holy rock. The outer walls are also octagonal. They each measure approximately {{cvt|60|m|ft|}} wide and {{cvt|36|m|ft}} high.<ref name=BRIT /> The inner and outer octagon create a second, outer ambulatorium surrounding the inner one. Both the circular drum and the exterior walls contain many windows.<ref name=BRIT />