The Hindu : International : Remains of Siloam Pool found

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 25, 2004

International

International

Remains of Siloam Pool found

Water flows through the site where archaeologists believe they have uncovered the remains of the Siloam Pool in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Thursday. — AP

JERUSALEM, DEC. 24. Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered the stone remains of the biblical Siloam Pool, were the Bible says Jesus restored a blind man's eyesight — underlining the link between the works of Jesus and ancient Jewish rituals.

Tucked away in what is now the Arab neighbourhood of Silwan, archaeologists are slowly digging out the pool, where water still runs in the channel that brought water from a nearby spring.

The Siloam Pool was used by Jews for ritual immersions for about 120 years until the year 70, when the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple.

Many of Jesus' acts are directly linked to Jewish rituals, and the miracle of the blind man is an example. Jesus put clay in the blind man's eyes and then told him to wash them out in the pure waters of the Siloam Pool, restoring his eyesight. (John 9: 1-7).

In the last four months, archaeologists have revealed the pool's 50-metre length and a channel that brought water from the Silwan Spring to the pool. In the past week, a section of stone road that led from the pool to the Jewish Temple was uncovered.

``The moment that we revealed and discovered this four months ago, we were 100 per cent sure it was the Siloam Pool,'' said Eli Shukron, one of the archaeologists on the dig.

Pure water

``We know today that the Siloam Pool is connected to the Temple Mount. There is a road that connects between the two elements. The entire system is clearer today,'' Mr. Shukron said.

Stephen Pfann, a Bible scholar, said that the pool's waters were considered very pure. He said Jesus likely chose to cure the blind man using the purest water available, because people with any disabilities were barred from the Temple. ``The whole point in John's Gospel is that people should not only be healed physically but also healed spiritually,'' Mr. Pfann said.

``This discovery helps bring the Gospel alive in the context of Jewish practice.''

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