Discovery of Biblical Pool of Siloam

[FromTexas (Premo)]

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports.

The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah's Tunnel and is ``a much grander affair'' than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, according to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review, which reported the find Monday.

``Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit'' to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. ``Now we have found the Pool of Siloam ... exactly where John said it was.''

A gospel that was thought to be ``pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,'' he said.

The discovery puts a new spotlight on what is called the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a trip that religious law required ancient Jews to make at least once a year, said archeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who excavated the pool.

``Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said. ``It would be natural to find him there.''

The newly discovered pool is less than 200 yards from another Pool of Siloam, this one a reconstruction built between A.D. 400 and 460 by the empress Eudocia of Byzantium, who oversaw the rebuilding of several Biblical sites.

Source: Drudge (who is citing the Los Angeles Times)

[sleuth]

Originally Posted by FromTexas

Source: Drudge (who is citing the Los Angeles Times)

Cool stuff!!

[sleuth]

Originally Posted by sleuth

Cool stuff!!

My stepdad's response to the news...

Again the Gospel confirmed. You know that this is not
really so amazing. In those days the writing and recording HAD to be
legitimate and as accurate as possible. All the people had was verbal and
very little written correspondence. Their very lives depended on truthful
communication. Liars had their tongues cut out. A scribe that wrote an
untruthful account was either put to death or had his hands cut off. Pretty
good system I think. Maybe that's why we only see Dan Rather from the chest
up.