An elderly worshipper who had gone to Jerusalem's Western Wall to pray in the early morning on Tuesday had a close call when a 100-kilogram stone suddenly crashed at her feet.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the boulder may have been dislodged by erosion caused by vegetation or moisture in the wall, the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.

"I didn't hear or feel anything until it landed right at my feet," Daniella Goldberg, a 79-year-old resident of the city said.

"There was a big hole in the floor as you can see, in the deck, the boards of the stairs were even broken. I didn't understand where it fell from. I looked high up, it's all intact up there."