Jewish ritual bath dating back to the time of Jesus found in the Garden of Gethsemane

A ritual bath dating back to the time of Jesus was discovered on the Mount of Olives, according to the tradition of the site, the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus experienced the Agony in the Garden before his arrest, trial and crucifixion.

Gethsemane means "olive press" in Hebrew, which archaeologists say could explain the find.

“According to Jewish law, when making wine or olive oil, it needs to be purified,” Amit Re'em of the Israel Antiquities Authority told a news conference on Monday.

“So, there is a high probability that during the time of Jesus, there was an oil mill in this place,” he said.

Re'em said this was the first archaeological evidence linking the site to the biblical history that made it famous.

“Although there have been several excavations in the place since 1919 and beyond, and that there have been several finds - from the Byzantine and Crusader times, and others - there has been no evidence from the time of Jesus. Nothing! And then, as an archaeologist, the question arises: is there evidence of the New Testament story, or maybe it happened elsewhere? He told the Times of Israel.

The archaeologist said ritual baths are not uncommon to find in Israel, but finding one in the middle of a field implicitly means that it has been used for ritual purity purposes in the context of agriculture.

“Most of the ritual baths from the Second Temple period have been found in private homes and public buildings, but some have been discovered near farms and graves, in which case the ritual bath is outside. The discovery of this bath, unaccompanied by buildings, probably attests to the existence of a farm here 2000 years ago, which perhaps produced oil or wine, ”Re'em said.

The find was made during the construction of a tunnel that connects the Church of Gethsemane - also known as the Church of the Agony or Church of All Peoples - to a new visitor center.

The church is managed by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and the excavation was conducted jointly by the Israeli Authority for Antiquities and students of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.

The current basilica was built between 1919 and 1924 and contains the stone on which Judas would pray before his arrest after his betrayal of Jesus. When it was built, the remains of churches from the Byzantine and Crusader periods were discovered.

However, during the most recent excavations, the remains of a previously unknown XNUMXth century church were discovered, which was used at least until the XNUMXth century. Consisting of a stone floor, the church had a semicircular apse paved with a mosaic with floral motifs.

“There must have been an altar in the center of which no traces have been found. A Greek inscription, still visible today and datable to the XNUMXth-XNUMXth century AD, is from a later period ”, said the Franciscan Father Eugenio Alliata.

The inscription read: “For the memory and rest of the lovers of Christ (cross) God who received the sacrifice of Abraham, accept the offering of your servants and grant them the remission of sins. (cross) Amen. "

Archaeologists also found the remains of a large medieval hospice or monastery next to the Byzantine church. The structure had sophisticated plumbing and two large tanks six or seven meters deep, adorned with crosses.

David Yeger of the Israel Antiquities Authority said the finding showed that Christians came to the Holy Land even under Muslim rule.

"It is interesting to see that the church was in use, and may even have been founded, at the time Jerusalem was under Muslim rule, demonstrating that Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem also continued during this period," he said.

Re'em said the structure was likely destroyed in 1187, when the local Muslim ruler razed churches on the Mount of Olives to provide materials to fortify the city walls.

Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, head of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, said that the excavations "confirm the ancient nature of memory and Christian tradition linked to this site".

During the press conference, he said that Gethsemane is a place of prayer, violence and reconciliation.

“It is a place of prayer because Jesus used to come here to pray, and it is the place where he prayed even after the last supper with his disciples shortly before being arrested. In this place millions of pilgrims stop each year to pray to learn and to tune their will with the will of God. This is also a place of violence, since here Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Finally, it is a place of reconciliation, because here Jesus refused to use violence to react to his unfair arrest, ”Patton said.

Re'em said the excavation at Gethsemane is "a prime example of Jerusalem's archeology at its best, where various traditions and beliefs are combined with archeology and historical evidence."

"The newly discovered archaeological remains will be incorporated into the visitor center under construction at the site and will be exposed to tourists and pilgrims, who we hope will return to visit Jerusalem soon," said the archaeologist.