The New Testament describes Jesus curing a blind man at a location in Jerusalem, where recent excavations have uncovered stairs that had been hidden for almost two millennia.
The Pool of Siloam, an ancient landmark closed to Christians and Jews for almost two thousand years, will soon be open to the public. The City of David Foundation, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the Israel National Parks Authority all made the announcement. The dig has made significant headway with finding eight steps heading down into the Pool. Since the time of Jesus, almost 2000 years ago, the stairs have been missing.
The ongoing excavations within the City of David, particularly the Pilgrimage Road and the Pool of Siloam, provide one of the most significant affirmations of that history and the millennia-old affinity Jews and Christians share with Jerusalem. The City of David Foundation is a non-profit group that brings together people of all faiths and cultures through a shared love of Jerusalem’s historic City of David.
The Pool of Siloam was constructed in the ninth century B.C. as part of Jerusalem’s water system about 2,700 years ago. As recorded in the Bible’s Book of Kings, Chapter 20:20, construction occurred during King Hezekia’s reign. The blind man Jesus cured at the Pool of Siloam is described in John’s Gospel. Public members have had access to a tiny, wholly excavated portion of the pool for a long time.
Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, said that in the Pool of Siloam, we discover remnants of history that have been kept for us and revealed at the right time.
According to the excavation report, the stones that pilgrims’ forebears walked on throughout their journey to Jerusalem thousands of years ago will be exposed to the public for the first time.
