Jerusalem pilgrim road
Encyclopedia
Pool of Siloam
Pool of Siloam is a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem, located outside the walls of the Old City to the southeast. The pool was fed by the waters of the Gihon Spring, carried there by two aqueducts.-History:The Pool of Siloam is mentioned...
to the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
via the Hulda Gates in the Southern Wall
Southern Wall
The Southern Wall is a wall at the southern end of the Temple Mount and the former southern side of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the Ophel.-Construction:...
.
History
The ancient path was improved and paved in large, well-cut stone in the pattern of two steps followed by a long landing, followed by two more steps and another landing. The road was eight meters wide and its length from the Pool to the Temple Mount is 600 meters.According to archaeologist Ronny Reich
Ronny Reich
Ronny Reich is an Israeli archaeologist, excavator and scholar of the ancient remains of Jerusalem.-Education:Reich studied archaeology and geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His MA thesis Ronny Reich (born 1947) is an Israeli archaeologist, excavator and scholar of the ancient...
, who leads the contemporary dig uncovering the ancient road together with archaeologist Eli Shukron
Eli Shukron
Eli Shukron is an Israeli archaeologist employed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. He has made several significant finds from the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem....
, pilgrims used the Pool of Siloam as a Mikveh for ritual purification before walking up the road to the Temple at Jerusalem.
Sections of the ancient road were first discovered by Prof. Frederick J. Bliss and Archibald C. Dickey of the Palestine Exploration Fund
Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society often simply known as the PEF. It was founded in 1865 and is still functioning today. Its initial object was to carry out surveys of the topography and ethnography of Ottoman Palestine with a remit that fell somewhere between an expeditionary...
between 1894 and 1897. The find was reburied when their excavation concluded. Other sections were uncovered, then reburied, by later archaeologists, Jones in 1937 and Kathleen Kenyon
Kathleen Kenyon
Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon , was a leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She is best known for her excavations in Jericho in 1952-1958.-Early life:...
in 1961-1967.
In ancient times, in the celebration called Simchat Beit HaShoeivah
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah
Simchat Beit Hashoeivah or Simchas Beis Hashoeiva is a special celebration held by Jews during the Intermediate days of Sukkot.-Origin:...
, water was carried up the pilgrim road from the Pool of Siloam
Pool of Siloam
Pool of Siloam is a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem, located outside the walls of the Old City to the southeast. The pool was fed by the waters of the Gihon Spring, carried there by two aqueducts.-History:The Pool of Siloam is mentioned...
to the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
.