A rock-hewn ritual bath from the late Second Temple period, containing ash traces that provide evidence of the Temple's destruction, 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 ritual bath is rectangular, measuring 3.05 meters (10 feet) in length, 1.35 meters (4.4 feet) in width, and 1.85 meters (6 feet) in height. It was carved into bedrock, and its walls are plastered. In its southern section, four hewn steps that led into it were exposed. The ancient installation was discovered sealed beneath the destruction layer from the Second Temple period, a layer dated to 70 CE. Within this layer, which contains burnt ash providing evidence of the destruction, numerous pottery vessels were found, along with stone vessels characteristic of the Jewish population that lived in the city on the eve of the destruction.
The excavations beneath the Western Wall plaza, where the ritual bath was discovered, are adjacent to the site of the Second Temple and to two of its main entrances 2,000 years ago: the Great Bridge from the north and Robinson's Arch from the south. Additional evidence has been found in the area, including ritual baths, stone vessels, and other artifacts related to ritual purity. Israel Antiquities Authority researchers speculate that the ritual bath served the Jews who lived in the area and the many pilgrims who visited the region 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. 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 (Jewish religious law), 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."
According to Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, "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. This moving discovery, made just ahead of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet (Jewish fast day commemorating the siege of Jerusalem), underscores the importance of continuing archaeological excavations and research in Jerusalem, and our obligation to preserve this historical memory for future generations."
According to the director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mordechai Eliav, "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."
