A sealed religious shrine by Jesus' ancestors has been discovered in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City, frozen in time for nearly 3,000 years.
Carved into the rock on the eastern slope of the City of David, near the Temple Mount, the remarkably preserved structure consists of eight rooms containing an altar, a sacred standing stone, and olive oil and wine presses.
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Experts believe it may have appeared in the Bible, because the partially destroyed site is consistent with the story of how Hezekiah – one of Jesus' ancestors – destroyed pagan places of worship.
Eli Shukron, director of excavations at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who dated it to the time of Hezekiah, believes this could be one of the sites described.
He said in an article published in the scientific journal Anticoat: “The temple stopped operating during the eighth century BC, perhaps as part of the religious reform of King Hezekiah.
“According to the Bible, Hezekiah sought to centralize worship in the temple in Jerusalem, eliminating ritual sites scattered throughout the kingdom.
“The Bible describes how, during the First Temple period, additional ritual sites were made outside the Temple.
“It says that the two kings of Judah – Hezekiah and Josiah – carried out reforms to remove these sites and concentrate worship in the temple.”
Both kings are identified as Jesus' paternal ancestors through the Gospel of Matthew.
Hezekiah's campaign against pagan places of worship—or “high places”—is described in 2 Kings.
He recounts how he “removed the high places and smashed the sacred stones” and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
It is noteworthy that the sacred stone standing at the site survived his attack.
Shukroun described it as “the most dramatic and important discovery in excavation.”
“That's what makes this place a devotional site,” he said.
“When we uncovered it, we found it standing in its place, with stones around it.
“The standing stone was covered with dirt. It has been preserved – and no one has destroyed it.
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“When we found it, it was exactly as it was here 2,800 years ago.”
Another room contains the remains of an altar, which can be identified by a drainage channel that still extends from its corner.
In one part of the site, mysterious V-shaped carvings marked the floor.
Their true purpose has been lost to history, but they may have once supported some sort of tripod for ritual use.
Archaeologists also found a trove of artifacts from the 8th century BC, sealed behind a stone wall in the cave.
These included cooking utensils, jars containing fragments of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, loom weights, scarabs, seals stamped with decorative motifs, and grinding stones used to crush grains.
The site is located in the ancient heart of Jerusalem – sometimes called the City of David – just a few hundred meters from the Temple Mount, and existed alongside the First Temple there.
Excavations at the City of David began in 2010, but the northern part of the ruins was discovered in 1909 by Montagu Parker, a British adventurer searching for the Ark of the Covenant and other temple treasures.
Amichai Eliyahu, Israel’s Minister of Heritage, said of the new discovery: “This unique temple discovered in the City of David is an exciting testimony to Jerusalem’s rich past.
“Discoveries like this make our connection and historical roots – dating back thousands of years – tangible, in Jerusalem and other sites where Jewish culture and belief systems emerged.”
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