Biblical steps where Jesus 'performed miracle' unearthed by archaeologists

Archaeologists have unearthed a site where Christians believe Jesus performed miracles in Jerusalem.

The flight of steps at the Pool of Siloam, which are thought to have been unseen in more than 2,000 years, are where the New Testament records Jesus as having healed a blind man.

The historical site is in the Wadi Hilweh district, which archaeologists believe is the original site of Jerusalem, south of the walls of the Old City.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation announced that the Pool of Siloam will open to the public in the near future.

Now, they have made significant progress with the dig. Eight steps descending to the pool are the latest part to have been unearthed.

“The ongoing excavations within the City of David serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,” said Ze’ev Orenstein from the City of David Foundation.

It is “not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact,” he added.

The pool was built about 2,700 years ago as part of Jerusalem’s waterways, during the reign of King Hezekia, according to the Bible.

Archaeologists think the pool would have been a gathering place for Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus healed a blind man at the site.

However, the pool was destroyed after the first Jewish-Roman war in the year 70AD, according to archaeological finds from around the same period.

It was rediscovered by chance in 2004, when work being carried out by the Jerusalem municipal water company uncovered parts of the steps.

Orenstein said visitors will be able to “see with their own eyes, touch with their own hands, and walk with their own feet upon the very stones their ancestors walked thousands of years ago, as they made their way to Jerusalem on pilgrimage”.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.