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Jim Haberman

More than just a mikveh, this Jewish ritual bath at Huqoq confirmed that the site was inhabited by a Jewish population in antiquity—and therefore that the monumental building hinted at by carved architectural fragments nearby was a synagogue rather than a church. The mikveh’s 12 steps led down to a plastered rock-cut immersion room, which was later converted to a cistern via a shaft cut into the ceiling from ground level (the circular cutting in the corner of the floor was made later for an unknown purpose).