In a surprising discovery, Israeli archaeologists, checking a site before the Jerusalem municipality started installing a sewage pipe, stumbled upon what appears to be the remains of the biblical Pool of Siloam, connected to Jesus Christ's miraculous healing of a man blind from birth.
In a surprising discovery, Israeli archaeologists, checking a site before the Jerusalem municipality started installing a sewage pipe, stumbled upon what appears to be the remains of the biblical Pool of Siloam, connected to Jesus Christ's miraculous healing of a man blind from birth.
The incident, recorded by the apostle John, tells of Jesus anointing the eyes of the blind man with clay and then saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (John 9:7).
On Dec. 23, 2004, archaeologists Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich announced the find to be quite certain. "The moment that we revealed and discovered this four months ago, we were 100 percent sure it was the Siloam Pool," said Shukron. "We know today that the Siloam Pool is connected to the Temple Mount. There is a road that connects the two elements. The entire system is clearer today" ("Archaeologists find traces of 'Miracle' Pool," Associated Press, Dec. 23, 2004)
In fact, they found that water still flowed from a channel to this large 50-meter pool, of which 10 meters have already been excavated.
Why are the excavators so sure about the find? For one, historical records indicate the pool's approximate location, and this site fits that. They also discovered pottery pieces, a stone bottle cork and biblical-era coins cemented to the pool's structure, the earliest of which date to around 50 B.C.
Until now, another pool from the Byzantine era was thought to be the Siloam pool. The Gihon Spring was the source that filled both pools. "We have yet to discover how the water reached the [newly discovered] pool," says Shukrun. "We have the Hezekiah tunnel, we have the pool. When we have made further excavations we will have answers" (ibid.).
Although more research is needed to fully authenticate the find, it certainly appears another precise biblical location will be confirmed by archaeology.
