Recent archaeological digs in Jerusalem’s Old City Jewish Quarter revealed a mikve, or ritual bath, from the Second Temple period.
The mikve is located in a significant place, on a cliff that separated the upper city living quarters of the priests, and the Temple Mount.
In addition to the mikve, archaeologists Michal Haber and Dr. Oren Gutfeld from the Hebrew University uncovered a plastered water reservoir filled with 40 clay cooking pots from the same period, most of which remained unbroken.
In addition, a pipe bringing water from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple and a pool built by the Tenth Roman Legions in the Second Century was discovered.
Dr. Gutfeld said:
“The mikve was placed just beneath the bottom of water pipe, and apparently was the central source of water for the mikve. This is unheard of in any other discoveries and requires further investigation.”
According to archaeologists, that mikve was built alongside a luxury villa built in an area close to the Temple where the elite of Jerusalem lived. Because of its close proximity to the Temple Mount, it is very likely that a family of the Temple priests lived here.
The discoveries were made during an exploratory dig to allow the building of two elevators connecting the upper level of the Jewish Quarters to the lower level of today’s Western Wall.
After the extraordinary find, it was decided to preserve the mikve and adjacent residential structure and integrate them within a reception hall for the new Western Wall elevators along the eastern slope of the Jewish Quarter.
Minister of Construction and Housing, Jerusalem and Heritage, Ze’ev Elkin, who a few weeks ago inaugurated the beginning of the work on the construction of the Western Wall elevator, said:
“The rare findings that were discovered in the excavation area of the Western Wall elevator project are very exciting. The archaeological findings are further evidence of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem for thousands of years. The Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage under my leadership, will continue to work to preserve and develop the city’s glorious Jewish past while turning the capital into an innovative and progressive city.”
