A Biblical site where Jesus healed a blind man has been unearthed in a new excavation led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation.
A small section of the Pool of Siloam, where, according to John 9, Jesus restored sight to a man born blind, has been open to the public for several years. However, a new project aims to fully excavate the site, and recent progress has revealed approximately eight steps leading into the Pool, unseen for 2,000 years.
“The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,” Ze’ev Orenstein, director of International Affairs – City of David Foundation told Fox News Digital.
“Not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact,” he added.
According to the Israeli authorities and the City of David Foundation, the Pool of Siloam was originally constructed approximately 2,700 years ago during King Hezekiah's reign in the eighth century BC as part of Jerusalem's water system, as noted in the Bible's Book of Kings II, 20:20.
Over time, the pool underwent multiple construction phases, eventually reaching a size of about 1.25 acres, according to historical estimates.
“The half-mile running through the City of David, from the Pool of Siloam in the south, continuing along the Pilgrimage Road, up to the footsteps of the Western Wall, Southern Steps and Temple Mount, represents the most significant half-mile on the planet,” Orenstein said.
“There is no half-mile anywhere on Earth which means more to more people – not to millions, but to billions — than the half-mile that is the City of David,” he added.
Orenstein anticipates that in a few years, visitors to the City of David will have the opportunity to personally experience historical facts. They will be able to see, touch, and walk upon the same stones that their ancestors trod upon thousands of years ago during their pilgrimages to Jerusalem.