A rock-hewn ritual bath (mikveh) dating to the final days of the Second Temple period, bearing ash marks that testify to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, was uncovered in recent days during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation beneath the Western Wall Plaza. The excavations are being carried out as part of efforts to develop the site for public access.
The mikveh is rectangular, measuring 305 centimeters in length, 135 centimeters in width and 185 centimeters in height. It was hewn into the bedrock and its walls were plastered. In its southern section, four carved steps leading down into the bath were exposed. The ancient installation was found sealed beneath a destruction layer from the Second Temple period, dated to 70 CE.
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Ari Levy, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, observes work on excavating the mikveh
(Photo: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority)
The Israel Antiquities Authority said that within this layer, which contains burned ash serving as evidence of the destruction, numerous pottery vessels were discovered, along with stone vessels characteristic of the Jewish population that lived in the city on the eve of the destruction of the Second Temple.
The excavations beneath the Western Wall Plaza, where the mikveh was uncovered, are located close to the site of the Second Temple and to two of its main entrances that were in use some 2,000 years ago: the Great Bridge to the north and Robinson’s Arch to the south. Additional evidence indicating activity related to ritual purity, including other mikvehs and stone vessels, has also been found in the area.
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Excavation work on the mikveh under the Western Wall Plaza
(Photo: Emil Aljem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
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The exposed ritual bath under the Western Wall Plaza
(Photo: Ari Levy, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Researchers at the Israel Antiquities Authority believe the mikveh was used by Jews living in the area and by the many pilgrims who visited the site and the Temple.
“Jerusalem should be remembered as a Temple city,” explains Ari Levy, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “As such, many aspects of daily life were adapted to this reality, and this is reflected especially in the meticulous observance of the laws of ritual impurity and purity by the city’s residents and leaders. Indeed, the saying ‘purity spread in Israel’ was coined in this context.
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Four steps led into the ancient mikveh
(Photo: Emil Aljem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
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Excavation area where the purification bath was discovered
(Photo: Emil Aljem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
"Among the most prominent archaeological finds representing this phenomenon are ritual baths and stone vessels, many of which have been uncovered in excavations throughout the city and its surroundings,” says Levy. “The reasons for using stone vessels are halakhic, rooted in the recognition that stone, unlike pottery and metal vessels, does not contract ritual impurity. As a result, stone vessels could be used over long periods and repeatedly.”
Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu commented on the discovery ahead of the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet, which takes place on Tuesday. “The exposure of the ritual bath beneath the Western Wall Plaza strengthens our understanding of how deeply intertwined religious life and daily life were in Jerusalem during the Temple period," he said. "This moving discovery, made just ahead of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, underscores the importance of continuing archaeological excavations and research in Jerusalem, and our obligation to preserve this historical memory for future generations.”
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Full view of the uncovered Second Temple mikvehj
(Photo: Ari Levy, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director general of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, added that the "exposure of a Second Temple period ritual bath beneath the Western Wall Plaza, with ashes from the destruction at its base, testifies like a thousand witnesses to the ability of the people of Israel to move from impurity to purity, from destruction to renewal.”