Detritus from ancient Jerusalem drainage channel captures moment of city’s destruction - Gavriel Fiske

 

​ by Gavriel Fiske

Excavation reveals rare glass and ceramic vessels, oil lamps, tableware and food remains, offering insight into state of city in period before its sacking by Rome in 70 CE

 

An excavation at the main drainage channel that ran under the streets of ancient Jerusalem has revealed a collection of well-preserved artifacts that offer unique insights into the state of the city at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Tuesday.

The channel “passed under, amongst other facilities, the colorful markets of Jerusalem at the foot of the Temple Mount, and along the entire length of the City of David,” the IAA said in a press release.

This channel was usually cleaned regularly by municipal authorities, but the archaeologists found that it was half-filled with silt, indicating “a gradual neglect of city maintenance. And indeed, this very neglect and abandonment that we witness here corresponds to the story of the process of Jerusalem’s destruction,” said Dr. Ayelet Zilberstein, who directed the excavation.

Among the discoveries were a delicate glass vial, nearly perfectly preserved, several small oil lamps with soot still in them from use, various coins and beads, and a collection of ceramic vessels used to hold perfume and oil.

Also uncovered were a “large variety of pots and dishes” representing “nearly the complete tableware set of Jerusalem’s residents,” Zilberstein said, a collection “drawn from many houses and from different streets in town, thus presenting us with examples of almost all wares the city’s merchants had to offer.”

As part of the investigation, bags of excavated dirt and silt were removed from the channel and methodically sifted, revealing food remains including grape and olive seeds, grain kernels, eggshells and fishbones. The richness of the organic remains has prompted further laboratory testing, currently underway, to detect organic remains not visible to the naked eye, the IAA said.

The excavation uncovered “the detritus of the life above Jerusalem’s main street,” preserved “just as it was at the moment of the city’s destruction,” Zilberstein noted. “Small finds tell us a big story, from Jerusalem’s heyday of prosperity and splendor when its streets bustled with life, until the city’s ebbing moments during the rebellion against the Romans, and its total abandonment following the Temple and city’s destruction.”

An intact glass vial used for perfume or oils, discovered in an ancient Jerusalem drainage channel, in an image released August 13, 2024. (Eliyahu Yanai/City of David)

“The closer you get to the layers from the city’s later days – there is less and less evidence of human artifacts, and the picture begins to form of the demise of the city’s vitality,” she said.

Finds from the ancient Jerusalem drainage channel, in an image released August 13, 2024. (Emil Aladjem/IAA)

The drainage channel excavation, undertaken by the IAA in conjunction with The City of David Foundation, is ongoing. It is possible that during the destruction of Jerusalem, rebels or citizens might have hidden in the channel or used it for other purposes. Previously, a dig in the area uncovered a preserved Roman sword, still in its sheath.

Inside the Second Temple period drainage channel in Jerusalem, in an image released on August 13, 2024. (Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority)

Gavriel Fiske

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/detritus-from-ancient-jerusalem-drainage-channel-captures-moment-of-citys-destruction/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter