Archaeologists: 1,800-Year-Old Pool an Important Historical Find

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digging yerushalayimIt’s a case of history repeating itself – at least partially. Archaeologists who have been helping to prepare an area in the Jewish Quarter of Yerushalayim’s Old City for construction of a mikvah were stunned to discover that the exact same spot had been used for bathing purposes thousands of years ago. They uncovered an empty stone pool there, apparently part of an ancient Roman-era bathhouse that stood on the spot.

The archaeologists dated the pool to between the years 200 and 300 C.E., meaning that the structure is at least some 1,800 years old.

Dr. Ofer Sion, head of the Antiquities Authority archaeological team that uncovered the pool, said that team members were as surprised as anyone else by the finding – not only because of the context in which the discovery took place, preparations of the site for another bathing facility, but because of the pool’s good condition.

“Inscribed on the pool’s tiles is the legend ‘Leg X Fr,’ a reference to the Roman Army’s tenth legion that has been seen on other sites. The inscription indicates that the soldiers were the builders of the pool,” says Dr. Sion. Atop the floor tiles were hundreds of roof tiles, indicating that the pool was covered.

The pool and its attending bathhouse, says Dr. Sion, were apparently part of the Roman Empire’s “Aelia Capitolina” project, which was implemented to erase the name of Jewish Yerushalayim after the failure of the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 CE. “The tenth legion was brought into Jerusalem after the rebellion was put down, when the pagan Aelia Capitolina city was built. The legion was thought to have operated in the area of the modern Armenian Quarter of the Old City, and the discovery of their pool in the nearby Jewish Quarter confirms this,” Dr. Sion said.

Besides the legion’s calling card, archaeologists found another interesting item at the site, Dr. Sion said – the imprint of a dog’s paw. “It’s possible that the dog belonged to one of the soldiers, and its paw got imprinted on one of the roof tiles, either accidentally or as a humorous gesture,” he said.

Antiquities Authority official Yuval Baruch said that the discovery was an important one, because it was the first evidence of the Roman Legion in the Old City. “Until now, it was thought that Aelia Capitolina was very small,” he said, “but this discovery shows that the project was much larger than had been previously believed. Research on Aelia Capitolina is very important, because the changes made then were instrumental in setting what we currently see in the Old City.”

Read more at Arutz Shevah

{Arutz Shevah/Matzav.com}


4 COMMENTS

  1. look & see as Israel keeps on discovering things from the time of the Beis Hamikdosh. From coins to wells to bricks etc… & see the hand of HASHEM as he shows more & more signs of the coming of Mashiach.
    just look as Israel’s relationship with the other countries of the world are slowly but surely stopping & separating from each other. including the U.S.A. (i.e. this is needed before Mashiach comes. as it says in Zecharia the Prophet. that every single country in the entire world will be against Israel before Mashiach comes)

  2. Great news. I get a buzz out these stories of archaeological finds in the Holy City. More pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to silence the critics of bible authenticity. I hope and pray that Jerusalem becomes a sanctuary of beautiful water courses and flowing abundance. The stream of divine blessing is endless if we know how to tap into it…

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