BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Ancient Ritual Bath Found Near Western Wall

Excavations uncover mikveh from Second Temple period

Excavating the Second Temple mikveh. Courtesy Emil Aladjam, IAA.

Excavations beneath the plaza in front of Jerusalem’s Western Wall have revealed a mikveh dating to the final days of the Second Temple period, immediately before the Roman army’s destruction of the city in 70 CE. According to excavators, this mikveh serves as yet another reminder that ancient Jerusalem should be remembered as a “Temple city.”

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Ritual Purity at the Western Wall

As part of ongoing excavations in the plaza fronting the Western Wall—one of Judaism’s holiest sites—archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered a Jewish ritual bath dating from the late Second Temple period (first century BCE–first century CE). The ritual bath, known as a mikveh, was hewn into the bedrock outside one of the main entrances to the Temple itself, between the Great Bridge and Robinson’s Arch. Measuring more than 30 feet long and 13 feet wide, the mikveh would have been used by Jewish pilgrims to ritually purify themselves before entering the Temple complex.

During excavations, archaeologists discovered a thick layer of ash directly over the mikveh, indicating that it was still in use in the final years of the First Jewish Revolt, before the city was destroyed. Along with the ritual bath, archaeologists also discovered numerous pottery and stone vessels dating to the same period.

“Jerusalem should be remembered as a Temple city,” explained IAA excavation director Ari Levy. “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.”

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