Second Temple period Jewish ritual bath uncovered, in need of rescuing
The 2,000-year-old facility was revealed during a salvage excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINSecond Temple period mikve uncovered in Lower Galilee.(photo credit: COURTESY OF STEVE GRAY AND ANAT HARREL.)
A Second Temple period Jewish ritual bath was discovered by chance last month in the Lower Galilee and a group of locals are trying to save it from its current destiny of destruction.The 2,000-year-old facility was revealed during a salvage excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority in preparation for construction works of a new highway intersection near Kibbutz Hannaton.Construction projects in Israel are required by law to be preceded by an archeological survey. However, considering the density of the country’s territory both in terms of population and of ancient remains, when researchers find something, in most cases they just document it and move as much as possible out of harm’s way before the works continue. The newly discovered mikve is set to represent no lucky exception and is set to buried again by the highway within a few weeks.However, some Hannaton residents are hoping to be able to transfer the whole structure to the kibbutz and to create a small archaeological park around it. The mission especially resonated with them also because Hannaton is already home to a very special ritual bath, the only one in Israel that is open to anyone wishes to experience it regardless of religion, sex or age, as explained to The Jerusalem Post by Anat Harrel, a tour guide and a member of the kibbutz’s mikve committee.“A few weeks ago, I participated into a tour visit of the ancient ritual bath organized by the IAA, which runs many initiatives to bring the public to archaeological excavations,” she said. “After learning that the mikve is going to be covered in cement I asked if it would be possible for us to build a replica for the kibbutz. The archaeologists actually suggested moving the whole thing.”Once determined that the move would be possible logistically, the question has become to find the necessary funds. For this purpose, Harrel, together with Rabbi Haviva Ner-David who runs the mikve in the kibbutz, and Steve Gray, another resident, launched a fundraising campaign to collect the $75,000 necessary for the first phase of the project.“We have time until the end of July,” she highlighted, adding that the IAA, the National Roads Authority of Israel and the Jezreel Valley Regional Council have been very supportive of the initiative.Archaeologists could date the mikve to the Second Temple period thanks to the grey plaster coating the pool and the width of the staircase leading into it. As it was very common in the region, it is believed that the area back then was cultivated with either olive trees or vineyards producing the high quality oil or wine used in the Temple. For this reason, the ritual bath could have been used by the farmers, who needed to constantly immersed themselves in order to avoid making the produce impure.Similar cases are discussed in the Mishna, the foundational text of rabbinic Judaism, which would be compiled in the nearby city of Tzipori some 200 years later.“From the hill, we can see Tzipori as well as Nazareth which is also about 20 minutes away,” Harrel highlighted. “I often guide Christian tourists and this mikve dates back to the time of Jesus. Would we be able to tell them that maybe he visited this field and talked to the workers who used this mikve?”She highlighted that the two archaeologists carrying out the excavation which uncovered the ancient ritual bath are Israeli Arab, one Christian, one Muslim.“We invited them both to immerse in our mikve at the kibbutz. There are so many amazing layers to this story,” she concluded.For more information about the fundraising campaign: https://www.jewcer.org/project/savethemikveh388889/
