The project to make the Second Temple mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) at the Tel Hebron archaeological site near Kiryat Arba more accessible to visitors is almost complete, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) said on Thursday.
One of the largest of its kind in the country with a volume of nearly 200 cubic meters, the mikveh was was discovered in 2014 by the Civil Administration's Archaeology Staff Officer, under the direction of Dr. Emanuel Eisenberg and Professor David Ben Shlomo.
It is made up of two parts: a wide staircase leading down into the pool and an inner cave hewn into the face of the rock.
The bath’s size and design “attest to its importance during the early Roman period and to the centrality of ritual purity in the life of the Jewish community at the end of the Second Temple era,” the INPA noted.
As part of the accessibility project, overseen by a conservation engineer and architect, careful conservation work has been carried out within the cave, including preserving the ancient layers of plaster lining the walls, treating cracks in the rock to stabilize the structure and prevent further deterioration, and clean the thousands of years of built up sediment.
However, conserving the staircase, walls, and rainwater drainage system (for winter), while adhering to the remains and their authenticity proved an additional challenge.
“Making the mikveh accessible to visitors is intended to provide a tangible experience of Jewish life during this period,” said Ilya Burda, site manager of Tel Hebron at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. “ Visitors will be able to learn about the significance of a ritual bath, understand its place in daily life, and momentarily experience the religious and social reality of that era.”
Burda added that visitors to the site will be able to learn about the bath’s significance, its place within daily life, and “momentarily experience the religious and social reality of that era.”
One of Israel’s most important historical sites
Tel Hebron is one of the most important historical sites in Israel, according to INPA, home to the remains of a Canaanite and First Templeperiod Jewish settlement as well as artifacts from the Bronze and Iron Ages.
"Hebron is one of the four holy cities in the Land and one of the oldest cities in Israel,” said Ilan Cohen, Heritage Coordinator for the INPA’s West Bank District. “It is woven into Jewish history across many generations.”
The finds include the "Cyclopean Wall,” a four meter high Canaanite wall from the Early Bronze Age (circa 2,700 to 2,400 BCE), fortifications dating to the Israelite period (8th to 7thcentury BCE), a stepped street from the early Roman period, a pottery workshop with an ancient kiln, and a winepress from the late Roman and Byzantine periods.
Other archaeological finds, many bearing ancient script, have also been unearthed at the site over the years.
These include the fragment of a clay tablet with a list of livestock written on it in Akkadian cuneiform script dating to the Canaanite period, a seal bearing the inscription “Shafatyahu [son of] Samakh" in First Temple period script, and clay jar handles with the words "To the King" and "To the King of Hebron" in Hebrew.
Coins dating to the Bar Kochba revolt (132–136 CE) were also found.