During construction work to make the Old City of Jerusalem accessible to the disabled, a ritual bath (mikveh) from the Second Temple Period (1st century) was discovered under the Western Wall, near the Temple Mount.
According to the Hebrew University (HU) of Jerusalem, the nearly 2,000-year-old mikveh belongs to a rock-cut villa in an area of Jerusalem where, according to Jewish writer Flavius Josephus, the city’s elite lived at the time.
The ritual bath is now to be preserved and integrated into the new West Wall Lift complex. The many water channels, reservoirs and ponds uncovered near the villa “reflect the pivotal role Jerusalem’s water supply has played over the centuries,” said fellow excavator Oren Gutfeld.
Late Byzantine oil lamp also found
According to Kathpress, archaeologists from the Hebrew University (HU) Jerusalem also recovered several artifacts during the excavations. For example, the fragment of a late Byzantine oil lamp with the Greek inscription “The light of Christ shines for all”.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
