Archaeologists have discovered a quarry where stones were carved to pave the streets of ancient Jerusalem in the days of Jesus Christ.
The stones were built to construct the ancient Pilgrimage Route, a 2,000-year-old stepped stone path where Jesus and his disciples are said to have wandered.
The Bible claims that Jesus healed a blind man on the road that also led to the ancient Jewish Temple where Jesus would have prayed.
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient quarry linked to a path walked by Jesus and his disciples 2,000 years ago
The pilgrimage street (pictured) was built 2,000 years ago and is believed to be the street leading to the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed a blind man.
The site was discovered on the southeast side of Jerusalem and spans some 37,600 square feet, making it one of the largest and most important quarries ever found in Jerusalem.
The Israel Antiquities Authority discovered numerous building stones at the site, which matched those found at another excavated site two miles away, called the Pilgrimage Road or Pilgrim’s Way.
Researchers found that the road, which once connected the City of David to the Jewish Temple, had paving slabs of the same size and thickness as those at the construction site.
They reported that the stone slabs at both sites also bore identical marks from trenches having been cut around the rock and dug out of the ground.
“It is reasonable to assume, with due caution, that at least some of the building stones quarried here were intended to be used as paving slabs for the streets of Jerusalem in that period,” said IAA co-leaders Michael Chernin and Lara Shilov.
‘Surprisingly, it turns out that the paving stones on this street are exactly the same size and thickness, and share the same geological signature, as the stone slabs that were quarried in the quarry now exposed at Har Hotzvim.’
Most of the stones found in the quarry measured about eight feet long and four feet wide.
The newly discovered quarry was only 2.5 miles from the City of David, making it an ideal location for the major building projects of Herod and his successor.
The newly discovered quarry was only 4 kilometers from the City of David, making it an ideal location for the major building projects of Herod and his successor.
Once fully excavated, it will be preserved for public viewing.
“In the ancient world, there were many technologies for shaping stones and special carts designed to transport them. The Old City is not that far away,” Chernin said. The times of Israel.
At that time, stones were typically shaped using water-powered saws constructed from a system of pulleys and wheels which were then moved from place to place on wheeled wooden carts pulled by horses or camels.
Most of the stones measured about eight feet long by four feet wide and were likely used to build monumental projects in the late Second Temple period that began during the rule of King Herod in 37-4 B.C.E., according to the researchers.
Streets, public buildings, palaces and fortifications were built until the city was conquered and destroyed by the Roman general Titus in 70 AD, at which time researchers believe the quarry was abandoned.
The team connected the quarry to the Jewish people after finding a stone tool that was widely used by the population at the time and two stone purification vessels – large jugs used for ritual washing.
The quarry is believed to have been the site of monumental construction projects including public buildings, palaces and fortifications.
Jesus is believed to have walked the Pilgrimage Route that passed by the Holy Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir, where the Lord and Savior of the people healed a blind man.
Historians previously thought Herod ordered the street to be built, but an analysis of more than 100 coins found during the excavation of the Pilgrimage Route indicated it was started and completed under Pontius Pilate, who ruled for a decade beginning in A.D. 26, according to an IAA study.
Pilate later sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion in 33 AD.
Two stone purification vessels (large jars used for religious ritual washing) further confirmed that the site was built by the Jewish population.
An intact vessel was “discovered almost by chance,” archaeologists reported, saying it had been abandoned in a corner for 2,000 years.
“It is possible that (the ship) was manufactured on site at the quarry or was brought specifically to the site for the use of the workers,” Shilov explained.
