Ritual Bath Complex From Jesus' Era Found Beside Temple Mount

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have uncovered a well-preserved ritual bathing complex about 2,000 years old near the Temple Mount, Fox News reports.

Snapshot

Fox News reports on a Hebrew University excavation that found a well-preserved first-century ritual bathing complex on the Ophel beside the Temple Mount, with coins tying its end to the Roman destruction and an older purification site beneath it. A theology professor says Jesus could in theory have visited, though the New Testament does not say so, and that baptism grew from wider Jewish purification practice.

Key points

• Location: The Ophel, just south of the Temple Mount, near the ancient entrance known as the Triple Gate.
• Structure: It dates to the early first century A.D. and has three large ritual baths, a plastered pool, a paved plaza and an extensive water system.
• Preservation: One bath stands nearly 14 feet tall and keeps its vaulted stone ceiling and water shaft. The university called floor-to-ceiling survival rare in Jerusalem.
• Destruction layer: Dozens of coins from the First Jewish Revolt were found on the floors and in debris, pointing to the Roman destruction in 70 A.D.
• Older facility: Beneath it lies an older public purification site, with a bath thought to be from the first century B.C.

Quick take

Candida Moss, a theology professor at the University of Birmingham, told Fox News Digital that Jesus and his disciples could in theory have visited, but nothing in the New Testament says they did. She said the find shows baptism grew out of wider Jewish bathing and purification practices.

Read the full story at Fox News.