Why did the Romans dismantle the temple stone by stone according to legendary stories?
Legendary stories say some Roman soldiers had heard that tons of gold were hidden between the temple's building blocks. To get that gold, they literally took the temple down stone by stone. This dismantling matched Jesus' prophecy that not one stone would be left upon another.
Les explains that in chapter 24, after Jesus left the temple complex and went across the Little Kidron Valley toward the Mount of Olives, His disciples pointed back to the temple buildings. Jesus declared that not one stone would be left upon another. Les notes a contrast: when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the earlier temple, he did it by fire because it was predominantly cedar wood and burned like a matchbox. The Romans also used fire, but they literally dismantled the temple rock by rock and stone by stone. Legendary stories claim some Roman soldiers had heard there were tons of gold hidden between the building blocks, so they took the temple down stone by stone to go after that gold. Les says this is exactly what Jesus was talking about in prophetic utterance.