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MERCADO / THE NEW OPHEL EXCAVATIONS, HEBREW UNIVERSITY

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE. The large stepped pool in Area D may have been used for ritual immersion or for purifying vessels. Adjacent to the pool is a monumental building constructed with fine ashlars. Its two entrances give access to descending staircases, one of which ends in a ritual bath. Built shortly before the turn of the era, the building and the pool formed one complex that likely served pilgrims’ ritual purification needs. A 27-inch-wide decorated ceiling piece (shown here) found in secondary use resembles other floral architectural elements from the Herodian Temple Mount, suggesting the complex had a public, ceremonial function. The building was destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, as indicated by coins from year four of the First Jewish Revolt discovered among its ruins.