A wide and well-preserved road dating to the Second Temple Period has been uncovered in the vicinity of Beit Natif some 12 miles (20 km) southwest of Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) found the Roman street while conducting excavations prior to construction of a new water pipeline to Jerusalem.
“The road…is up to 6 meters wide [6.5 yards], continued for a distance of approximately 1.5 kilometers [1 mile] and was apparently meant to link the Roman settlement that existed with the main highway known as the Emperor’s Road,” the IAA said in a statement. “That road was a main artery that connected the large settlements of Bet Guvrin and Jerusalem.”
The construction of the Emperor’s Road is believed to have occurred at the time of the Emperor Hadrian’s visit to the country in 130 AD. “The presence of a milestone [a stone marking distances] bearing the name of the Emperor Hadrian which was discovered...
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