A Rare Ritual Bath (Miqwe) from the Second Temple Period

April 2013 - A Rare Ritual Bath (Miqwe) from the Second Temple Period was Revealed in Jerusalem. Wednesday, April 10, 2013. In an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in the Qiryat Menachem quarter of Jerusalem, prior to building the Ora–Massua road promoted by the Moriah Company, a rare ritual bath (miqwe) was exposed that dates to the late Second Temple period. According to Benyamin Storchan, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Numerous ritual baths have been excavated in Jerusalem in recent years, but the water supply system that we exposed in this excavation is unique and unusual. The ritual bath consists of an underground chamber entered by way of steps. The miqwe received the rainwater from three collecting basins (otzar) that were hewn on the roof of the bath, and the pure water was conveyed inside the chamber through channels. The ritual baths known until now usually consist of a closed cavity that was supplied with rainwater conveyed from a small rock-cut pool located nearby. The complex that was exposed at this time is a more sophisticated and intricate system. The bath was apparently associated with a settlement that was situated there in the Second Temple period.