Second Temple-era purification complex uncovered near Temple Mount

At the center of the site, built in the early first century C.E., is a large plastered pool measuring approximately 12 by 9.5 meters (39 by 31 feet), with steps descending into it from all four sides.

By JNS

A large ritual purification complex dating to the Second Temple period has been uncovered at the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Thursday.

The exceptionally well-preserved site includes three large ritual baths, a massive plastered pool, a paved plaza, and an extensive water system.

One mikvah (ritual bath) survives to its full height, including its vaulted stone ceiling—a rare example in Jerusalem of a Second Temple-era structure preserved from floor to ceiling, it said in a press release.

Dating from the first century BCE until the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the site was uncovered in the Ophel, immediately south of the Temple Mount.

The excavations are being directed by Prof. Uzi Leibner and Prof. Orit Peleg-Barkat of Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology.

The discovery was made near the Triple Gate, one of the principal entrances to the Temple Mount during the Second Temple period.

Its location and scale suggest that it served large numbers of Jewish pilgrims who came to Jerusalem and underwent ritual purification before visiting the Temple, according to the archaeologists.

“A monumental ashlar structure devoted entirely to ritual purification, situated at the foot of the Temple Mount and near one of its gates, is a truly unparalleled phenomenon,” Leibner and Peleg-Barkat said.

“The complex goes to the heart of our research into the archaeology of Second Temple-period pilgrimage: how the area immediately south of the Temple Mount was designed to accommodate the many pilgrims who came to Jerusalem to visit the Temple, and what activities and rituals took place near its gates,” they added.

A pilgrimage purification center

At the center of the site, built in the early first century C.E., is a large plastered pool measuring approximately 12 by 9.5 meters (39 by 31 feet), with steps descending into it from all four sides.

Northwest of the pool stands a finely constructed ashlar building containing four rooms, three of which were identified as large public mikvahs. Altogether, the facility covers approximately 280 square meters (3,000 square feet).

One of the mikvahs is preserved to its full height of 4.2 meters (nearly 14 feet), including the stone vault above it and the shaft through which it was supplied with water.

The preservation of a structure from this period from floor to ceiling is exceedingly rare in Jerusalem, particularly in such a central location, according to the researchers.

Two of the mikvahs feature carefully hewn ashlar steps. Between the large pool and the ashlar building is a forecourt paved with large, finely dressed stone slabs.

The baths and pool were connected to an extensive drainage system consisting of channels preserved in places to a height of more than 2 meters (6.5 feet). The channels carried water toward the Kidron Valley.

Their dimensions indicate that large volumes of water passed through the system and suggest that the facility may have been supplied by a permanent source of running water, possibly a branch of the aqueduct that supplied the Temple.

Evidence of Roman destruction

The site met its end in the summer of 70 C.E., when Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple.

Archaeologists found dozens of coins dating to the First Jewish Revolt against Rome on its floors and amid the destruction debris, providing evidence of its final period of use.

The excavation also revealed that this was not the first public purification facility built at the site. Beneath it, archaeologists uncovered remains of an earlier ashlar-built public facility that likewise contained a large mikvah and probably dates to the first century BCE.

The find points to a longer history of ritual purification activity in the area immediately adjacent to the Temple Mount.

The discovery follows five seasons of excavations in the Ophel by Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology in cooperation with the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology.

The project was funded by the Israel Science Foundation, the Armstrong Institute, and the Hertog Center for the Archaeological Study of Jerusalem.

The excavation site is located within Jerusalem Walls National Park.