2,000-year-old Jewish ritual bath discovered near Second Temple site

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced a few days ago that it had uncovered a Jewish ritual bath, known as a mikveh, hewn from rock beneath the Western Wall plaza and sealed beneath a layer dating to the Second Temple period.

Excavations conducted by the IAA and Western Wall Heritage Foundation recently discovered the mikveh among ash remains from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, along with an enormous number of pottery and stone vessels characteristic of Jewish life during that period.

The timing of the announcement came just days before the 10th of Tevet, a date in the Jewish calendar commemorating the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE, an event described in 2 Kings, chapter 25. The IAA estimates that the mikveh was in use toward the end of the Second Temple period, shortly before it too was destroyed nearly 2,000 years ago.

“Jerusalem should be remembered as a Temple city,” said Ari Levy, excavation director on behalf of the IAA. “As such, many aspects of daily life were adapted to this reality, and this is reflected especially in the meticulous observance of the laws of ritual impurity and purity by the city’s residents and leaders. Indeed, the saying ‘purity spread in Israel’ was coined in this context. Among the most prominent archaeological finds representing this phenomenon are ritual baths and stone vessels, many of which have been uncovered in excavations throughout the city and its surroundings,” he explained. “The reasons for using stone vessels are halakhic, rooted in the recognition that stone, unlike pottery and metal vessels, does not contract ritual impurity. As a result, stone vessels could be used over long periods and repeatedly.”

According to the Law of Moses, as outlined in Leviticus chapters 13–16, which describe impurity resulting from blood, death, and skin diseases such as leprosy, pottery that became impure had to be broken and discarded, while stone remained pure. When the people of Israel became impure for any reason, ritual cleansing and a period of waiting were required in order to become pure again. Because ritual purity was required before ascending to the Temple, many such ritual baths have been found around the site, close to where the Temple once stood.

Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, said, “The exposure of a Second Temple period ritual bath beneath the Western Wall Plaza, with ashes from the destruction at its base, testifies like a thousand witnesses to the ability of the people of Israel to move from impurity to purity, from destruction to renewal.”

According to the IAA, this particular mikveh measures 3.05 meters (10 feet) in length, 1.35 meters in width (almost 4.5 feet), and 1.85 meters (6 feet) in height. Though it was hewn into the natural bedrock, the walls had been plastered. Like other Jewish ritual baths found in Jerusalem, the mikveh had steps to enable people to descend into the water for ritual cleansing, with 4 steps hewn into the structure on the southern side. 

According to the Minister of Heritage, Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, “The exposure of the ritual bath beneath the Western Wall Plaza strengthens our understanding of how deeply intertwined religious life and daily life were in Jerusalem during the Temple period. This moving discovery, made just ahead of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, underscores the importance of continuing archaeological excavations and research in Jerusalem, and our obligation to preserve this historical memory for future generations.”