Archaeologists Find Ancient Roman Ruins Underneath Holy Site In Jerusalem

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman theater buried at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, as well as new underground sections of the wall itself.

The scientists were digging in the tunnels underneath the Western Wall that run below Jerusalem’s Old City area. Those tunnels cover the full original length of the wall, even though today on the surface it is only a couple hundred feet across, and include ancient structures like arches and ritual baths. About 26 feet down, excavators found the Roman theater and eight stone layers of the Western Wall that have been buried for centuries, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday.

The Western Wall is a holy site in Israel, the remains of what stood atop the Temple Mount until it was destroyed in 70 AD, when the Roman Empire invaded. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in the Jewish religion and has significance for Muslims and Christians as well.

“After the removal of this layer of soil, the archaeologists were surprised to discover that it covered the remnants of an extraordinary theater-like structure from the Roman period confirming historical writings that describe a theater near the Temple Mount,” the antiquities authority said. “Apparently, a great deal was invested in the construction of the theater which contained approximately 200 seats.”

It might have been designed as an “odeon” — a smaller theater that had a roof to enhance acoustics during performances. It may also have been a meeting place for the city council of Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city that was built in the place of the Jewish city that was destroyed in the first century.

The Roman theater ruins are the first of their kind to be found in this Israeli city, but they are from a structure that may never have been used. Archaeologists have found clues about its construction, such as a stone staircase that was never finished.

Joe Uziel, an Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist who is leading the dig, said in a video that it may have been abandoned during the Bar Kokhba Revolt, when Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire that had taken over their city.

He called the theater and the additional underground layers of the Western Wall “stones that haven’t seen light for 1,700 years.”

Experts have been searching for the ancient structures from that Roman period for decades, after reading about them in historical writings.

“Time after time the amazing archaeological findings allow our generation to actually touch the ancient history of our people and Jewish heritage and its deep connection to Jerusalem,” Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Israel’s rabbi of the Western Wall and of its other holy sites, said in the statement. “We have a great deal of archaeological work ahead and I am certain that the deeper we dig, the earlier the periods we will reach, further anchoring the profound connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and to Jerusalem.”

The stone layers of the wall, known as “courses,” are well preserved, “are built of massive stones and are outstanding in the quality of their construction,” the antiquities authority said.

The AP notes that other structures from Jerusalem’s Roman era which remain to be found include a larger theater, a basilica and a bathhouse.

These findings might help scholars better understand what life was like in the area during that time period.