The Hall of Hewn Stones (), also known as the Chamber of Hewn Stone, was the meeting place, or council-chamber, of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period (6th century BCE – 1st century CE). The Talmud deduces that it was built into the north wall of the Temple in Jerusalem, half inside the sanctuary and half outside, with doors providing access both to the temple and to the outside. The chamber is said to have resembled a basilica in appearance,Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 25a) having two entrances: one in the east and one in the west.Mishnah Taharoth 6:8, Commentary of Rabbi Hai Gaon, s.v. Buildings in the temple complex used for ritual purposes had to be constructed of unhewn stones. (The Torah prohibits the use of hewn stones or those touched by iron for the altar per Ex 20:22, Deut 27:6. Various reasons have been given for the prohibition, among them: the purpose of the Temple is peace, while iron implements are used in war; the Temple lengthens human life while iron shortens it; the hewing of stones is an invitation to carving images in them, violating the prohibition against idolatry; and the sword references the earthly power of Esau, not the spiritual power of Jacob/Israel.)See sources at http://etzion.org.il/vbm/english/archive/mikdash4/105mikdash.htm
According to the Talmud, the Hall of Hewn Stones is the traditional meeting place of the Great Sanhedrin when it functioned as a court with full sovereign powers including the power to impose criminal penalties.Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 41a) "And it was said that forty years before the destruction of the temple, the Sanhedrin exiled her and sat in the Chanut"
The Sanhedrin stopped meeting in the Hall of Hewn Stones when the Roman Empire restricted Judaea's autonomy and removed the Sanhedrin's power to impose criminal penalties.
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References
Schiffman, Lawrence H. From Text to Tradition, a History of Judaism in Second Temple and Rabbinic Times. Jerusalem: Ktav, 1991. Zeitlin, Solomon. The Rise and Fall of the Judean State: A Political, Social and Religious History of the Second Commonwealth. New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1967. The Sanhedrin , Aryeh Kaplan