In the Bible, it was said that Jesus healed a blind man at a pool in Jerusalem called the Pool of Siloam. After almost 2,000 years, archaeologists announced they had discovered the steps to the pool.
A Fox News Digital report detailed that the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation announced earlier this year that the biblical site cherished by Christians and Jews would be open to the public for the first time in 2,000 years in the near future.
In recent weeks, archaeologists made unprecedented progress in the excavation after they unearthed some eight steps descending to the pool, which was last recorded during the time of Jesus himself.
City of David Foundation director of international affairs Ze'ev Orenstein said the excavations within the City of David, the historic site of biblical Jerusalem, served as "one of the greatest affirmations" of the shared heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with the holy city, both as a matter of faith and as a matter of fact.
"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," he added.
The organization was established in 1986 and was dedicated to the "preservation and development of the City of David and its environs," as well as to "connect people of all faiths and backgrounds" to ancient Jerusalem.
The pool was first discovered in 2004 when infrastructure work carried out by the Hagihon water company uncovered some of the pool's steps, which the Israel Antiquities Authority promptly launched a survey of the discovery.
Plunging in to Preserve the Pool
The Pool of Siloam was first built roughly 2,700 years ago as part of Jerusalem's water collection system. The construction was initiated by King Hezekiah as cited in the Bible's Old Testament, the two Israeli agencies and the foundation said.
In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus restored the sight of a man born blind at the Pool of Siloam.
According to estimates, the Pool of Siloam passed through many stages of construction and reached the size of 1.25 acres (0.51 hectares).
A small section of the pool which has been fully excavated has been accessible to the public for several years. Moreover, the vast majority of the pool is being excavated and would either be opened by segments or once the entire site has been unearthed.
Orenstein stressed that the pool needed to be preserved not only as a pilgrimage site within Jerusalem but also as a historical monument in its own right.
"Whether in the halls of the United Nations, ongoing efforts by the Palestinian leadership, or on university campuses, Jerusalem's Biblical heritage is under assault," he said.
In reaction to the discovery, the Congress of Christian Leaders president Rev. Johnnie Moore told Fox News Digital earlier this year that the Pool of Siloam was found as evidence of history preserved for mankind that was "revealed at just the right time."
"Theologically, it affirms Scripture, geographically it affirms Scripture, and politically it affirms Israel's unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem," he added. "Some discoveries are theoretical. This one is undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel."
