From The Times of Israel:

Archaeologists working in the hills outside of Jerusalem uncovered an ancient ritual bath that offers not only remnants of Second Temple-era life in the area, but also those of Australian soldiers who visited the site while passing through during World War II.

“The finds from this excavation allow us to reconstruct a double story: about the Jewish settlement in the second century CE, probably against the backdrop of the events of the Bar Kochba revolt [132-135 CE], and another story, no less fascinating, about a group of Australian soldiers who visited the site” many centuries later “and left their mark there,” excavation director Yoav Tsur said.

During a dig at the Elah junction south of Beit Shemesh, archaeologists found “fragments of magnificent pottery vessels,” such as lamps, a jug and cooking pots, that helped them date the use of mikveh, or ritual bath, back to the time of the Second Temple, but the evidence indicates that residents stopped using it as a ritual bath during the second century CE, “perhaps in light of the Bar Kokhba revolt,” according to Tsur.

After the site ceased to be used as a mikveh, residents of the area enlarged the otzar — or water collecting vat for the mikveh — and continued to use it as a cistern for collecting drinking water.

Nearly 2,000 years later, as fighting again raged in the region, two Australian soldiers left their names, ranks and identification numbers carved into the rock at the site during World War II.

The full story is here.

HT: Charles Savelle

In construction work south of the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, archaeologists recently discovered a large monastery dating from the Byzantine period.  From the Jerusalem Post:

According to a joint statement issued by the excavation’s co-directors, Irene Zilberbod and Tehila Libman, an archaeological survey conducted along the hills south of Beit Shemesh brought the findings to light several weeks ago. “Blocked cisterns, a cave opening and the tops of several walls were visible on the surface,” the archeologists said. “These clues to the world hidden underground resulted in an extensive archaeological excavation there that exposed prosperous life dating to the Byzantine period, which was previously unknown.” Zilberbod and Libman said the compound is surrounded by an outer wall and is divided on the inside into two regions, including an industrial area and an activity and residential area. Additionally, an “unusually large press in a rare state of preservation that was used to produce olive oil was exposed in the industrial area, as well as a large winepress revealed outside the built compound consisted of two treading floors from which the grape must flowed to a large collecting vat.” Despite not finding a church or inscription of any kind indicating religious worship, the excavation’s co-directors said they still believe the site served as a monastery. “It is true we did not find a church at the site… or any other unequivocal evidence of religious worship; nevertheless, the impressive construction, the dating to the Byzantine period, the magnificent mosaic floors, window and roof tile artifacts, as well as the agricultural-industrial installations inside the dwelling compound, are all known to us from numerous other contemporary monasteries,” they said. Based on that criterion, the archeologists noted it is possible to reconstruct a scenario in which monks resided in a monastery that they established, made their living from the agricultural installations, and dwelled in the rooms and carried out their religious activities.

The full story is here. The IAA press release is here.