In Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, pilgrims would walk up a stepped street that led from the Siloam Pool in the City of David to the Temple Mount. What did they encounter along the way?
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently uncovered a pyramid-stepped structure along this stepped street in Jerusalem’s City of David—in Jerusalem Walls National Park. The structure is approximately 2,000 years old. Its exact function or purpose remains a mystery.
Archaeologists Nahshon Szanton and Joe Uziel, who lead the IAA excavation, believe the structure is a monumental podium, but since there are no parallels for this structure, their identification is not positive. They explain their position in a statement issued by the IAA:
We believe the structure was a kind of monumental podium that attracted the public’s attention when walking on the city’s main street. It would be very interesting to know what was said there 2,000 years ago. Were messages announced here on behalf of the government? Perhaps news or gossip, or admonitions and street preaching—unfortunately we do not know.
While there are no archaeological parallels for this structure, rabbinic sources might offer insight about its purpose. Several rabbinic sources mention “stones” that served public purposes during the Second Temple period. For example, the Mishnah and the Talmud both reference a place in Jerusalem called the Stone of Claims:
Our Rabbis taught: There was a Stone of Claims in Jerusalem: Whoever lost an article repaired thither, and whoever found an article did likewise. The latter stood and proclaimed, and the former submitted his identification marks and received it back. And in reference to this we learnt: Go forth and see whether the Stone of Claims is covered.
(Bava Metzia 28b)
Whether the recently discovered podium functioned like the Stone of Claims or not, it is certainly an exciting discovery. Perhaps future excavations in Jerusalem will shed more light on this mysterious structure.
In Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, pilgrims would walk up a stepped street that led from the Siloam Pool in the City of David to the Temple Mount. What did they encounter along the way?
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