SUMMARY: Last time, we saw some of the remarkable archeological discoveries at Jerusalem’s Pilgrim’s Road, a newly discovered 2,000-year-old route up to the Temple Mount. But why have some media outlets not covered this significant find and what additional understandings have been revealed by the excavations? This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. See Part 1: Ancient Pilgrim’s Road up the Temple Mount Uncovered.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you” – Psalm 122:6 (ESV)
New Finds at Pilgrim’s Road Collide with Political and Religious Tensions – Part 2
The finds at the Pilgrim’s Road excavations at the City of David have been heralded as some of the most significant of the last century. The ancient stairway leading to the Temple in Jerusalem had been buried beneath layers of rubble and dirt for centuries. The reality of the staircase lying beneath a modern neighborhood required a unique strategy to unearth the First century AD route and the many artifacts along it.
However, the importance of the discovery has been clouded by the same mixture of religion, politics and history that always accompanies such matters in this part of the world. Amidst these tensions, discoveries at the site continue to add to our understanding of Jerusalem in biblical times.
Recent Discoveries Overturn the Thinking that Lower Jerusalem was Poor
Over the last 15 years, excavation of the Pilgrim’s Road began at its lower end, near the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s lower city and the Pool of Siloam south of the Temple. Siloam was where Jesus told a blind man he healed to wash.
[Jesus] said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. – John 9:7 (ESV)
As the dig continued uphill, it needed to burrow underground, and beneath the modern neighborhood above it, to reveal the now-buried stairway. As it did, more evidence was found that pointed to a construction date around AD 30, which caused researchers to question a longstanding understanding. Influenced in part by the writings of the First century Jewish historian, Josephus, it was thought that residents of the City of David in the First century were poor. Instead, a pattern of artifacts shows that, at least along the roadway, the area was quite affluent.
Researchers stated, “The impressive street and the buildings that were exposed along its length testify to the fact that a wealthy population lived here.”
Some of the luxury items uncovered by the project led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, included jewelry, complete stone and clay tools, rare glass items, and numerous ornate stone tables. One of the tables was round and made of bitumen stone inlaid with colored stones at its center.
Signs of Jerusalem’s Violent Destruction
One of the most poignant discoveries made in the excavated lower half of the 700-hundred-yard stairway was evidence of the last days of the Jewish revolt and the violent destruction of the city by the Romans in AD 70.
A number of silver coins were minted in the city of Tyre in AD 33 were found, which helped date the construction of the road.
Additionally, the destruction layer yielded thousands of coins made during the brief four-year revolt before Jerusalem was crushed by Rome. Why would they spend so much time, effort and resources to produce mass quantities of coins during a time of crisis?
Zeev Orenstein, Director of International Affairs at the City of David Foundation shared his theory as reported in Breaking Israel News.
“Inscribed on the coins were phrases like, ‘For the freedom of Zion,” he explained. “Even though the battle against Rome seemed hopeless at the time, the Jews believed, hoped, and prayed that one day, their descendants would return to Jerusalem and find these coins. They wanted us to know that they lived and died for Jerusalem. 2,000 years later, their prayers were finally answered and today, there is a sovereign Jewish Jerusalem.”
From the ruins of the ash layer that marked the city’s destruction, valuable information was derived about its last days. Arrowheads and ballista stones found along the way from the time of the final assault that ended with the razing of the city and the destruction of the Temple.
Traces of blackened grain, some of it in jugs, were also discovered. More research is needed to determine if this gives testimony to the civil war between Jewish factions who burned food stores as part of their dispute during the siege, or if this was done by the advancing Romans. (Read more on evidence for Jerusalem’s destruction.)
Jewish rebels had barricaded themselves in the lower city before the final battle, and in the drainage tunnel beneath the Pilgrim’s road cooking pots and kitchenware were found, with which the rebels ate their last meals before the Romans discovered them and killed about 2,000 (as Josephus reports). A Roman legionnaire sword was also found, still inside a leather scabbard.
The cover of a cistern was unearthed on the floor of the drainage tunnel with the cistern below also containing cookware from Jewish rebels hiding in the last days before they too were discovered.
Political Issues and the Pilgrim’s Road
A striking reality seen in many media outlets is that they have either been silent about these extraordinary finds, or else have run stories pushing political positions and the disputes between Jewish and Palestinian interests rather than the archaeology. When it comes to Israel, every reality inevitably becomes enmeshed in politics and religion, with the question of who controls the land as a fundamental issue. Both sides have a list of grievances.
Israeli’s have long tied their claim to control of the Holy Land to their ancient historical connections there. At the focal point of Jerusalem, the pressure of these issues is amplified even more. Palestinians have long tried to erase any Jewish connection to ancient Jerusalem. In some circles, they have even increasingly denied that there ever was a Jewish Temple atop the Temple Mount; an idea that would seem to be ridiculous in the face of all the historical and archaeological evidence, but an idea that has gained traction within the United Nations recently.
With continued strife, all sides of the debate have seemed to grow farther apart. The fanfare of the announcement ceremony had clear political overtones. Director general of the City of David and Israel Prize laureate David Be’eri stated, “Two thousand years ago, the Romans thought they had brought an end to Jewish life in the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. Today, we’re back at the very same place, as a free people in their country and their capital.”
The festive nature of the ceremonial events, and the fact that they were attended by envoys from the United States, has irked those on the other side of the political aisle. An op-ed in Haaretz was entitled “Jerusalem’s Newly-unearthed Temple Tunnel Is Thrilling, Glorious – and Toxic for Coexistence.” The author commenting on the ceremonies wrote, “they literally smashed prospects of coexistence in a city they don’t live in, and have no true regard for its real residents.”
Many see the endeavor to unearth the Pilgrim’s Road as part of the continuing effort to “Judaize” Jerusalem at the expense of the Palestinians. Archaeologists are also caught up on the different sides of this debate.
Part of the dispute involves claims that the tunneling has endangered lives and homes in the Muslim neighborhood above, and that the tunneling has strayed into the Temple Mount itself, which is off limits. It was determined that there was no evidence to substantiate either of these charges. The archaeologists are working under the constant supervision of engineers to ensure the safety of all involved.
Other Recent Finds in Jerusalem
The City of David (or the Old City just south of the Temple Mount) has seen excavations by European and American researchers over the last 150 years who occasionally found small parts of the Pilgrim’s Road. British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon had photographed some of the road’s stone border, however these stones were found to have been stolen when the recent dig reached the same point.
Other finds from the City of David in recent years include a large series of seal impressions (or bullae) written in Hebrew with official signatures imprinted on them. These include a rare seal impression of a prominent woman, a bulla of an aid to King Josiah, as well as a one-of-a-kind impression belonging to Judah’s King Hezekiah.
A seal impression has even been discovered with several attributes pointing to the likelihood that it belonged to the prophet Isaiah.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of one’s political views, and while many media reports push the political aspects of the unveiling ceremony, the more substantial news here is archaeological in nature. Amazing archaeological treasures and knowledge are being unearthed in Jerusalem for all to see.
According to Dr. Yuval Baruch, archaeologist of the Jerusalem area at the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Today, for the first time, one can walk along one of the main streets of ancient Jerusalem, get an impression of its sights and receive answers to fascinating historical questions that have been asked for more than 100 years about the history of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period… Six years ago we renewed archeological excavations along the street, and it was exposed in all its glory to the benefit of the thousands of visitors who could walk there.”
Fascinating historical questions have been answered, and these finds help fill in the picture of the locations and events of biblical times. The biblical account is set in real-world times and places that are coming to life more every day. – Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Ambassador David Friedman and Envoy Jason Greenblatt using a sledgehammer to ceremonially open up the path of the City of David’s Pilgrimage Road. (Credit: City of David)
