The excavations inside the Old City of Jerusalem at Jaffa Gate have exposed a water canal, 40 meters long (44 yards) and 1.5 meters (5 feet) high of an upper Jerusalem waterway from the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E.  The ancient precursor of today’s Old City road leading from Jaffa Gate to Mt. Zion was uncovered previously, precisely where an ancient and now-famous Mosaic map indicated it should be.

Dr. Ofer Sion, director of the archaeological works at the site, stated that the newly-uncovered section is part of a waterway that was once some 13 kilometers long, leading from Solomon’s Pools. At the end of the 19th century, the Land of Israel archaeologist and architect Dr. Conrad Schick (designer of the Meah She’arim neighborhood) described the location of part of the waterway. “His work gave some clues that led to this discovery.” During the course of the excavation the wall of the waterway was exposed when some of the large stones were removed revealing a perfectly-designed waterway, with a flat stone roof on top. People can walk inside it, bent-over, for a length of 40 meters.”

Originally, water was supplied to Jerusalem chiefly from the Gichon Spring. Just over 2,000 years ago, however, with the population of the city growing, a new source was sought. King Herod began work on large projects bringing water from the Hevron Mountains, using the power of gravity, to Solomon’s Pools just south of the city. From there, two waterways channelled water to the city: The upper channel brought water to the King’s palace, Hezekiah’s Pool and other areas in the higher levels of the city, while water on the lower waterway went to the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount and the lower areas. The now-revealed section is part of the upper channel. The excavations are being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority as part of a “rescue” operation, customary in Israel before major construction work, prior to the replacement of underground infrastructures there.

The ancient footprints of the artisans who built a stunning 1,700-year-old mosaic floor in Lod were discovered recently, when conservators from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were in the process of detaching the huge work of art from the ground.

IAA conservators working on the mosaic (Israel news photo: Niki Davidov / IAA)

As the conservation experts worked on the plaster bedding to be done before detaching the mosaic, they were surprised to notice there were ancient foot and sandal prints beneath it. Clearly, the builders that had worked on the floor sometimes wore their sandals, and sometimes worked in their bare feet.

A sandal print shows that sometimes the builders wore their shoes (Israel news photo: Niki Davidov / IAA)

“It’s exciting. This is the first time I have ever encountered personal evidence such as this under a mosaic,” said Jacques Neguer, head of the IAA Art Conservation Branch, who referred to it as “a real archaeological gem that is extraordinarily well-preserved.” When removing a section of mosaic, it is customary to clean its bedding, and that way study the material from which it is made, and the construction stages, Neguer explained. “We look for drawings and sketches that the artists made in the plaster and marked where each of the tesserae will be placed.”

Neguer said this is also what happened with the Lod mosaic. “Beneath a piece on which vine leaves are depicted, we discovered that the mosaic’s builders incised lines that indicate where the tesserae should be set, and afterwards, while cleaning the layer, we found the imprints of the feet and sandals, sizes 34, 37, 42 and 44.” At least one imprint of a sole resembled a modern sandal, he added. Based on the concentration of foot and sandal prints, “it seems that the group of builders tamped the mortar in place with their feet.”

Bare foot prints were also found beneath the Lod mosaic (Israel news photo: Niki Davidov / IAA)

The mosaic is one of the largest and most magnificent ever seen in Israel, but although it was discovered in 1996, it was covered over again when no resources could be found for its conservation. Thirteen years later, the IAA received a contribution from the Leon Levy Foundation specifically earmarked for the preservation and development of the Lod site. The mosaic was re-excavated, exhibited to the public, and then conservators began the delicate process of removing it from the area for treatment in the IAA conservation laboratories in Jerusalem.

Measuring approximately 180 square meters, the mosaic is composed of colorful carpets that depict in exquisite detail mammals, birds, fish, floral species and sailing and merchant vessels that were in use at the time. It is believed that the mosaic floor was part of a villa that belonged to a wealthy man who lived during the Roman period.

The Lod mosaic is one of the largest and most magnificent ever discovered in Israel (Israel news photo: Niki Davidov / IAA)

The site, which is located in the eastern section of Lod, next to the entrance at Ginnaton Junction, is intended to become a springboard for tourism to the city. It is situated between HeHalutz and Struma Streets, which lead to the open air market and to the city’s center.

“It is fascinating to discover a 1,700 year old personal mark of people who are actually like us, who worked right here on the same mosaic,” Neguer remarked. “We feel the continuity of generations here.”

December 2009, Archaeologists unveiled the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the New Testament period when Jesus lived there as a boy. Nazareth is the town where Christian tradition alleges Jesus grew up. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority stated workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling in the summer, but it became clear only that it was a structure from the era of Jesus.

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about 1.6 hectares. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, stated it was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders.
Alexandre’s team found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area. The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours. Similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans. However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth’s Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities.

Alexandre’s team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian centre, just meters away from a Basilica. It was not clear how big the dwelling is, however Alexandre’s team have uncovered about 85 square metres of the house, which may have been for an extended family and could be much larger.

As workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls, archaeologists found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a “simple Jewish family.” The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels. The shards date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.. The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains found in other parts of the Galilee typical of that period.

The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were “simple,” since the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers. The only other artifacts that archeologists have found in the Nazareth area from the time of Jesus are ancient burial caves outside the hamlet, providing a rough idea of the village’s population at the time.

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian centre being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group. Alexandre stated limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus’ boyhood home may have looked like.