The well-preserved, 2,000-year-old miqwe (ritual bath) was found below a living room floor during renovations in a private house in Ein Karem, an old Arab village near Jerusalem.
The 2,000-year-old miqwe. Image credit: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.
“Ein Karem is considered a place sacred to Christianity in light of its identification with ‘a city of Judah’ – the place where according to the New Testament, John the Baptist was born and where his pregnant mother Elisabeth met with Mary, mother of Jesus,” said Dr Amit Re’em of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
“Despite these identifications, the archaeological remains in Ein Karem and the surrounding area, which are related to the time when these events transpired (the Second Temple period), are few and fragmented.”
“The discovery of the ritual bath reinforces the hypothesis there was a Jewish settlement from the time of the Second Temple located in the region of what is today Ein Karem.”
The ritual bath, hewn out of rock, is complete and large (3.5 x 2.4 x 1.8 meters). It was found by a local family renovating their house.
“A staircase leads to the bottom of the immersion pool. Pottery vessels dating to the time of the Second Temple (1st century CE) and traces of fire that might constitute evidence of the destruction of 66-70 CE were discovered inside the bath,” IAA archaeologists said.
The miqwe, view from the living room. Image credit: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.
“In addition, fragments of stone vessels were found which were common during the Second Temple period because stone cannot be contaminated and remains pure.”
“Initially, we were uncertain regarding the importance of the find revealed below our house and we hesitated contacting the IAA because of the consequences we believed would be involved in doing so,” the house’s owners said. “At the same time, we had a strong feeling that what was situated beneath the floor of our house is a find of historical value and our sense of civic and public duty clinched it for us. We felt that this find deserves to be seen and properly documented.”
“We contacted the IAA at our own initiative in order that they would complete the excavation and the task of documenting the discovery.”
