Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered 2,000-year-old trash and artifacts dating back decades to the life of Jesus as part of excavations in a drainage channel that once ran under the city’s main roads. The excavations, managed by the Israel Antiquities Authority with funding from the City of David, have uncovered not only trash but also items used daily by Jerusalem residents, including tableware, glass vials, grape seeds, grain kernels, fish bones and egg shells.
According to a news release, the canal ran “under Jerusalem’s colorful marketplaces at the base of the Temple Mount” and “along the entire length of the City of David” until decades before the city’s destruction in 70 A.D. It was Jerusalem’s “main underground artery.”
Some of these items may have been used by residents who saw or spoken to Jesus.
“The canal’s entrance contained remnants of life on Jerusalem’s main street, preserved between the walls in exactly the same state as at the moment the city was destroyed,” said Ayala Zilberstein, excavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority. “The small finds tell a larger story: from the height of Jerusalem’s prosperity and splendor, when the streets were bustling with activity, to its decline during the revolt against the Roman Empire, and then to its complete abandonment after the destruction of the temple and the city.”
Archaeologists found remains from the destruction of Jerusalem in the upper layers of soil, including “an intact ceramic lamp dating to the end of the Second Temple period,” a period in Jerusalem’s history spanning roughly 600 years from the construction of the Second Temple to its destruction in 70 A.D. Soot on the lamp’s rim “remains as a sign of the fire that once burned within the lamp,” the news release said.
As archaeologists dug deeper, they found objects dating back decades before 70 AD, a time when Jerusalem was bustling with “endless activity,” including vials of perfumes and precious oils and “delicate glass vials miraculously preserved, almost intact.”
“Through the wide variety of pots and dishes collected in the drains, we encounter almost the entire range of tableware used by Jerusalem’s inhabitants,” says Zilberstein. “While excavations of a single domestic kitchen usually yield only a limited number of vessels, the drain collection comes from many homes and different streets in the city and contains examples of almost every product offered by Jerusalem’s merchants.”
The finds of grape seeds, grains, fish bones and egg shells “shed light on the dining habits of Jerusalem’s inhabitants during the city’s thriving period,” the press release said.
“It is important to look back and remember where we came from and what we went through, to connect with our history and put life in Israel into perspective,” said Eli Esksheed, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “New excavations currently underway near the Western Wall and the City of David have revealed a vibrant and magnificent city with a vast array of finds, the nature of which highlights the scale of the destruction and deepens our understanding of what was lost.”
Photo credit: © Israel Antiquities Authority
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
