Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Dr. Miriam Adelson, publisher of Israel Hayom, took part in a first of its kind tour of the Pilgrims Road in the City of David, the main thoroughfare of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, which has now been fully uncovered and opened to the general public for the first time in about 2,000 years.
The project is a flagship archaeological undertaking, one of the largest carried out in Israel in recent years. It has reopened a central historic axis at the heart of ancient Jerusalem, leading from the Pool of Siloam in the south of the city to the area of the Temple Mount.
The Pilgrims Road is a stone-paved street approximately 600 meters (about 1,970 feet) long and an average of eight meters (about 26 feet) wide, preserved in remarkable condition beneath ground level. Excavations began following the rediscovery of the Pool of Siloam in 2004 and were conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority under complex engineering conditions, beneath a living, modern city.
Along the route, archaeologists uncovered original paving stones, drainage channels and numerous finds including coins, weights and everyday items, offering vivid testimony to the daily life, commerce and heavy foot traffic that once characterized the street. The guided tour includes descending to the Pool of Siloam, an underground walk along the ancient street and concluding at the Davidson Archaeological Garden.
The tour lasts about two hours and is suitable for families, adults and organized groups. Opening the Pilgrims Road to the public makes it possible, for the first time in two millennia, to walk on the very stones trodden by Jerusalem's residents and pilgrims during the Second Temple period and to encounter the city as it once was: vibrant, active and bustling.
President Herzog said, "We are standing here at the entrance to the road that led pilgrims into Jerusalem, toward the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. It is deeply moving to see the impressive work being done here in the City of David. I thank everyone involved for this extraordinary effort, and I extend special thanks to Dr. Miriam Adelson for her significant support in bringing to life this historical story that connects us to a 2,000-year-old heritage."
Dr. Adelson said the occasion held personal meaning for her, marking five years since the passing of her husband, Sheldon Adelson. "Uncovering Jerusalem's past and making it accessible to the broader public was, for us, a public and moral mission. The opening of the Pilgrims Road expresses a living bond between the heritage of the past and the present, and I invite the public to come and walk this historic path, revealed for the first time in generations," she said.
David Be'eri, director-general of the City of David and a recipient of the Israel Prize, stressed that during the Second Temple period the road connected tens of thousands of pilgrims who came from across the country and around the world, and that today it is expected to connect millions of visitors and tourists. According to Be'eri, the visit by the president and Dr. Adelson reflects the project's national and historical significance.
"Thanks to the support of Sheldon and Miriam Adelson for the City of David's archaeological excavations, the ancient Pilgrims Road has been brought back to life. Millions of visitors from Israel and around the world will walk along it and draw strength and inspiration from it. In the face of attempts by our enemies to deny the historical connection of our people to Jerusalem, the Adelson family chose to expose the decisive proof of the bond between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, and to ensure that Jewish history will never again be forgotten or denied," he said.
