I think I’ve mentioned this somewhere before, but the Jerusalem Post has an article now announcing the discovery of the 1st century road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount. The northern portion of this road was fully uncovered in the work of Ronny Reich in the mid-1990s, but Reich’s partner Eli Shukron has been working on “uncovering” it on the southern end. I say “uncovering” because all of the work is actually underground or in very deep pits, inaccessible to the public. The excavator suggested to me that he wanted to “uncover” the entire stretch of the road, which means digging a tunnel for hundreds of meters underneath the houses of the City of David. I can’t imagine that the cost would be justified by what is revealed (more of the same). If they could dig underneath that road to reveal Old Testament period remains, now that might get me excited!
2 thoughts on “1st Century Road Revealed in Jerusalem”
Todd, I’m curious as to where exactly these pits/tunnels are. When I was at the site, I remember one deep pit on the south end. I can’t imagine that was a part of this. I also seem to remember that there was something going on between the road and the old pool, under a boardwalk that was constructed. I was so interested in getting to the pool I didn’t pay it much attention. Is that where it is?
Al Sandalow
Al – you are right. It is in the hole between the old pool and the road which essentially follows the line of the Central Valley. The last time I was there, it was not open to the public. And from what I could tell, it doesn’t look very easy to ever make open to the public.