The wealth and the luxury, the neglect and the hunger: the new findings from the ruin of the Second Temple

New archeological findings, from the drainage canal that passed under the main street of Jerusalem in the days of the Second Temple, illustrate the city’s decline from its greatness and its destruction.

During the excavation by the Antiquities Authority, funded by the City of David, a canal that ran the entire length of the city is being uncovered. The different layers in the canal, attributed to different periods, testify to the historical process – the layers closer to the ground, and the later ones, contain more and more scarce finds. “The study of the silt layers exposed in the canal allows us to glimpse right up to the moments of destruction,” said Dr. Ayala Zilberstein, the director of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, “in these moments we are able to identify the hunger in the city, its slow dying, the lack of findings.”

“The remains of life above Jerusalem’s central street were washed into the mouth of the canal, and were preserved in its sides as they were left with the destruction,” explained Dr. Zilberstein, “most of these canals received regular maintenance, and therefore the layers of alluvium that were discovered specifically in the central canal, which filled it to almost half its height , imply a gradual neglect in the maintenance of the city. The neglect and abandonment we are witnessing corresponds to the story of the destruction of Jerusalem.”

In the upper layers, the excavators discovered remains from the days of the city’s destruction, including complete pottery candles dating to the end of the Second Temple. The remains of soot on their lips remain as a sign of the fire that burned in them. A few meters south of the place where the oil candles were uncovered, a Roman sword inside a leather scabbard was discovered several years ago, in an excavation led by Eli Shukron, and the possibility is being examined that, like the sword, the oil candles were also carried by rebels who found a hiding place in the ditch.

As the diggers dug deeper into the alluvial layers, more and more findings were uncovered that testify to the splendor and wealth of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Thus, in the manual excavation by the team of workers led by Nissim Mizrahi, complete vessels were found, including vials of perfume and expensive oils, most of them earthenware, and next to them a delicate glass vial that was surprisingly preserved almost undamaged. In a preliminary examination of the pottery and glass vessels discovered at the site, Dr. Yael Gorin-Rozen and Dr. Shulamit Temer recognized that these vessels are very diverse, and some of them are rare.

Another evidence of deterioration is related to the discovery of ancient food remains – grape vines, grain kernels, fish bones and even eggshells. These were discovered in bags of dirt from the excavations, which were sent to the dirt screening site in Emek Zurim National Park. The remains of the food that teach about the menu of the residents of Jerusalem during the periods of prosperity of the rich.

The many organic finds that were found led to conducting laboratory tests, to also examine the existence of the remains that are not visible to the eye. In a preliminary examination conducted by Vitali Sterman and Dr. Yotam Asher from the Antiquities Authority, it was possible to distinguish a gap between the layers of the city’s living activity, and the layers that accumulated more recently.

Eggshells and olive and grape seeds discovered at the site (Photo: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

“The closer you get to the layers from the later days of the city – there is less and less evidence of human artifacts,” said Dr. Zilberstein, “and you get the picture of the city’s decay.” , it is more important to look back. The wealth of findings revealed in the new excavation shows a magnificent city full of animals, and it is this that also emphasizes the magnitude of the destruction and the understanding of what was lost.”