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Messages in an Ancient Mikvah found in Modern Jerusalem(9:10)
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The entrance to the cave containing the ritual bath, discovered during an inspection by the Israel Antiquities Authority prior to the construction of a neighborhood nursery school. Photo: Shai Halevy/Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
Archaeologist Alexander Wiegmann guides Judy Lash Balint around the site of a newly excavated Second Temple-period ritual bath.
In the course of building a kindergarten in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, archaeologists discovered the bath, from the first century CE. What’s unusual, says Wiegmann, who works for the Israel Antiquities Authority, are the wall paintings and inscriptions in Aramaic and cursive Hebrew script. Among the symbols are a boat, palm trees and a menorah. Wiegmann calls this a very significant discovery. He notes that finding such a concentration of decorations in such good condition is rare.
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