The government will provide 60 million shekels ($16.5 million) for archaeological excavations adjacent to the City of David, Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev announced Tuesday.
The excavations will be conducted by the nonprofit Ir David Foundation under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The Culture and Sport Ministry said it was rare for the government to allocate such a large amount of funding for archaeological work.
The area to be excavated lies outside the walls of the Old City, between the City of David and Mount Zion. According to the proposal, the funds will go toward excavating the fortifications at the Gihon Spring, the Street of Stairs, and connecting the tunnels used for display to a large stone structure known as the "Palace of the Kings of Judea," as well as a drainage ditch dating back to the Second Temple Era.
The plan also includes a completion of the excavation of the Western Wall tunnels beneath the Robinson Arch, making the site secure and accessible.
Regev said, "I'm happy that, together with the prime minister and my fellow ministers, I got the plan to excavate ancient Jerusalem approved.
"For the first time in decades, the government is initiating excavations that will unearth the remnants of ancient Jerusalem and express the history of the Jewish people dating back 3,000 years," Regev said.
The plan is scheduled to be presented in the cabinet meeting on Sunday, which is Jerusalem Day.
