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Jerusalem family finds 2,000-year old mikveh underneath living room
Ha'aretz ^ | Tammuz 14, 5775 (July 1, 2015) | Nir Hasson

Posted on 07/01/2015 4:11:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

A Jerusalem family ripping up its living room floor found a staircase lost for 2,000 years, leading to a large ritual bath carved out of bedrock.

It took the family some years to call in the authorities and show them the discovery beneath their house, in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ein Kerem. Throughout the interim, the family blocked off the entrance to the mikveh with wooden doors, and simply continued to live over it.

When they did call in the Israel Antiquities Authority, beneath the doors, the archaeologists found the carved stone staircase leaving to a big mikveh, 3.5 meters in length and 2.4 meters wide, with a depth of 1.8 meters.

The rock-hewn bath was meticulously plastered according to the laws of purity appearing in halacha. The staircase leads to the bottom of the immersion pool.

Carved stone is hard to date, but pottery vessels discovered inside the ritual bath date to the time of the Second Temple (first century CE). The mikveh also shows traces of fire that might constitute evidence of the destruction following the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 CE.

Also attesting to the period were fragments of stone vessels. Those became common during the Second Temple period, because stone cannot be contaminated and remains pure.

In recent years, due to extensive and controversial development work in the area of Ein Karem, many secrets of the neighborhood's long history have been uncovered. A complex water system was discovered alongside the spring, which also dates from the Second Temple period...

"The discovery of the ritual bath reinforces the hypothesis there was a Jewish settlement from the time of the Second Temple located in the region of what is today 'Ein Kerem," Re'em said.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...


TOPICS: History; Religion; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: archaeology; bath; einkarem; einkerem; factsintheground; factsontheground; godsgravesglyphs; israel; jerusalem; jewish; judaism; letshavejerusalem; mikvah; mikveh; secondtemple
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The living room in Ein Kerem - and staircase hewn out of bedrock, leading to a Second-Temple era ritual bath. Photo by Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the IAA

The living room in Ein Kerem - and staircase hewn out of bedrock, leading to a Second-Temple era ritual bath. Photo by Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the IAA

1 posted on 07/01/2015 4:11:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; ...

2 posted on 07/01/2015 4:12:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW)
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To: SunkenCiv

I’m guessing whoever built the house in the first place discovered it 20 to 50 years ago. But, as any wise developer would do, kept quiet and built over it.

“So what should we do Harvey?”

“Don’t do nothing Shem - those guys from the museum will be all over this - we’ll never sell ANY of these homes!”


3 posted on 07/01/2015 4:16:49 PM PDT by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts It is happening again.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Cool?

66-70 CE?? Christian Era?


4 posted on 07/01/2015 4:19:30 PM PDT by ForYourChildren (Christian Education [ RomanRoadsMedia.com - Classical Christian Approach to Homeschool ])
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To: ForYourChildren
66-70 CE?? Christian Era?

Sometimes "CE" is meant that way, but more often it's "Common Era." I wouldn't be surprised to see this usage at Haaretz.

5 posted on 07/01/2015 4:24:25 PM PDT by Lonely Bull ("When he is being rude or mean it drives people _away_ from his confession and _towards_ yours.")
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To: ForYourChildren

CE = “Common Era,” and BCE = “Before the Common Era”

It’s a weak attempt to conceal the fact that the dividing line is (a guess at) the date of the birth of Jesus.

66-70 means they got the thing built just in time for the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem and mass deportations after the first Jewish Revolt.


6 posted on 07/01/2015 4:24:28 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("And that drummer from that one band whose name I can't remember is also dead."~SamAdams76)
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To: ForYourChildren

CE is Common Era, as you probably well know.


7 posted on 07/01/2015 4:28:55 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW)
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To: 21twelve

I most likely would have reinforced the house floor or ceiling of it and used it for a bomb shelter.


8 posted on 07/01/2015 4:58:36 PM PDT by riverrunner
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To: SunkenCiv

So they can put that on MLS as having another full bath?


9 posted on 07/01/2015 5:23:10 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Wouldn’t the common era start at ~700AD?


10 posted on 07/01/2015 5:46:07 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Ive given up on aphostrophys and spell chek on my current device...)
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To: SunkenCiv

Make that ~570 AD


11 posted on 07/01/2015 5:48:09 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Ive given up on aphostrophys and spell chek on my current device...)
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To: SunkenCiv

Hmmm “CE is Common Era, as you probably well know.”

And CE starts at what point in history?


12 posted on 07/01/2015 5:54:50 PM PDT by ForYourChildren (Christian Education [ RomanRoadsMedia.com - Classical Christian Approach to Homeschool ])
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To: SunkenCiv
Those wacky Israelis....

I guess that beats finding Richard II under a parking lot

13 posted on 07/01/2015 5:59:41 PM PDT by spokeshave
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To: spokeshave

I don’t think anything can beat the discovery of the mummified remains of Ramses I in a small museum of “curiosities” in Niagara back in 1999, where it had been for 140yrs.


14 posted on 07/01/2015 6:13:39 PM PDT by HandyDandy (Don't make-up stuff. It just wastes everybody's time.)
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To: spokeshave

That was Richard III.


15 posted on 07/01/2015 6:38:50 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("And that drummer from that one band whose name I can't remember is also dead."~SamAdams76)
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To: Tax-chick

....So Richard improved with age


16 posted on 07/01/2015 6:42:29 PM PDT by spokeshave
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To: spokeshave

They’re all dead, anyway.


17 posted on 07/01/2015 6:45:49 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("And that drummer from that one band whose name I can't remember is also dead."~SamAdams76)
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To: ForYourChildren

0


18 posted on 07/01/2015 8:33:33 PM PDT by Phinneous (Viva Napoli!)
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To: Tax-chick

“Weak attempt”

Nah, just the Jewish convention. We’re stubborn.

Hey— maybe the got the dates mixed up and it’s really a “Baptizing Pool” of sorts. Now, where the heck could those who baptize have gotten such an idea? Hmmmm.... Let me go dunk in my ritualistic, scripturally-ordained Jew pool and ponder the potential source...


19 posted on 07/01/2015 8:38:32 PM PDT by Phinneous (Viva Napoli!)
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To: ForYourChildren

CE is the PC replacement for AD.


20 posted on 07/01/2015 9:54:16 PM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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