A 2000-year-old road which would have been walked by Jesus in Jerusalem has fully opened to the public after 20 years of painstaking excavation.
The Pilgrimage Road which served as the City of David’s main street, connects the Pool of Siloam to the summit of the Temple Mount.
It stretches for 600 metres and is eight metres wide, but it is now mainly underground because over the centuries, the route has been covered with rubble and houses have been built on top of it.
The excavation work has revealed an ancient marketplace, a Roman drainage channel and artifacts from the Second Temple period which lasted from 516 BC to 70 AD.
ANCIENT PILGRIMS BATHED IN POOL OF SILOAM BEFORE TAKING THE ROAD TO THE TEMPLE
Annaelle Choukroun from the City of David explained: “It was built during Roman times by King Herod in around 20 BC and led the Jews from the Pool of Siloam, which was the biggest ritual bath at the time, to the temple.”
“People would cleanse at the pool and then walk up this road to the temple.”
The pool was used by pilgrims who had journeyed from outlying villages to freshen up before visiting the temple.
It is likely that it was along this road that Jesus encountered the man born blind, placed mud on his eyes, and instructed him to walk down and wash in the pool, where he subsequently regained his sight.
ROAD WAS FORGOTTEN AND BURIED FOR NEARLY TWO MILLENNIA
The road was abandoned suddenly during the Great Revolt which led to the Romans’ destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.
It remained buried beneath layers of earth for about two millennia.
Modern archaeologists were unaware of its existence until 2004 when a pipe burst and needed to be replaced.
During the work, steps were discovered which would have taken people into the pool.
AREA AROUND POOL OF SILOAM WAS ONLY RECENTLY EXCAVATED
Annaelle Choukroun revealed that it only recently became possible to access all of the Pool of Siloam because ikt was underground beneath land that belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church.
“So we couldn’t excavate there, meaning that only in 2023 did the City of David acquire the land from the Greek Orthodox Church, and we have been excavating it ever since.”
“Which means that if you come to Jerusalem today, you will see the ancient steps from the pool made out of stone.”
During the excavations, archaeologists found several coins from Jesus’s time, including a half shekel which would have been taken by pilgrims to the temple.
Merchants’ scale weights and stone measuring tables were also discovered as the route would have also served as a bustling marketplace.
ROAD IS HUGELY SIGNIFICANT FOR CHRISTIANS
The road is hugely significant for Christians because as Annaelle Choukroun says: “it allows them to finally walk up the same road where Jesus walked. “
“The street has not been reconstructed or redesigned.”
“It was uncovered exactly as it was and left untouched.”
Archaeologists discovered a unique raised stone podium along the route.
This preaching stand may have been used by leaders and teachers of the era — and perhaps even by Jesus himself to address the crowds as they ascended to the House of God.
ROAD IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT AND SPECIAL FOR JEWISH PEOPLE
Annaelle Choukroun points out the Pilgrimage Road also carries great significance for Jews like herself:
“For Jews, we are walking through the same road where our ancestors walked 2000 years ago.”
“It’s a blessing and very unique. It reaffirms my faith every single day.”
“It tells me not just that it happened, but that there is no way that anyone could deny my heritage with this land, our heritage, because it’s a shared heritage, and that is extremely powerful.”
“ONE OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN ISRAEL FOR DECADES”
The Pilgrimage Road is part of the City of David National Park which occupies a slope just to the south of the Old City of Jerusalem which is now the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan.
The most ancient part of the 3,000-year-old city is today part of the City of David archaeological park.
“This is one of the most magnificent archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem in the last decades,” declared Amit Re’em, chief archaeologist for the Jerusalem District at the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
UNCOVERING THE HISTORIC ROAD NOT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY
Uncovering the road has not come without controversy.
The excavation was opposed by many Palestinian residents living in the houses above the underground site, fearing it would damage their homes — an accusation firmly rejected by archaeologists and the restorers.
Today, the street is enclosed by a tunnel of concrete and metal to support the houses and streets above.
The East Jerusalem site is in an area considered by Israel to be an integral part of the capital, but recognised by much of the international community as under Israeli occupation.
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