Temple-pilgrimage ritual baths excavated at the Ophel

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Monumental Ancient Ritual Baths Unearthed at Foot of Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Pilgrims flocking to ancient Jerusalem for the holidays in the Second Temple period may have not only purified but had opportunity to clean up before ascending to the holy site (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

Now archaeologists have revealed a previously unknown complex in the Ophel, the slope descending from the Temple Mount south toward the City of David, that is where the pilgrims would apparently immerse. The monumental complex includes three mikvaot (ritual baths) plus a strange rectangular pool that was evidently not a ritual bath. Prof. Uzi Leibner and Prof. Orit Peleg-Barkat are responsible for this exciting find. Nearby, the team also found two other installations that appear to have been plastered vats.

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