Jerusalem: Ancient Jewish ritual bath unearthed near Garden of Gethsemane
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists recently unearthed an ancient Jewish mikveh (ritual bath) near the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Christian Headlines reports.
Archaeologists believe the mikveh dates back to the time of Jesus’ ministry during the Second Temple period.
The finding was made during the construction of a tunnel joining the Kidron Valley to The Church of All Nations, close to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion (Matthew 26:36-46).
“Suddenly in the middle of this underground passage the mountain collapsed and revealed [an] ancient and amazing find – the Jewish ritual bath known by the name, mikveh,” IAA archaeologist Amit Re’em said in a statement.
Referencing the olive trees at the garden location, the name Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew “gat shemanim,” which means oil press. That a mikveh was found right here is particularly important because, according to Jewish law, a person must take a ritual purifying bath before making olive oil.
“For the first time, we have archaeological evidence that something was here in the Second Temple period, the days of Jesus,” Re’em said.
The ruins of a 1,500-years-old church in the Kidron Valley were also uncovered by archaeologists. In regard to this finding, IAA archaeologist David Yeger said: “It is interesting to see that the church was being used, and may even have been founded, at the time when Jerusalem was under Muslim rule, showing that Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem continued during this period as well.”
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