18 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

An opulent 2,000-year-old ‘city hall’ has been discovered near the Western Wall in Israel

An important 2,000-year-old public building has been unearthed near the wailing wall in Israel.

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered what seems to be a 2,000-year-old city hall structure — just a few hundred meters from its modern equivalent — during ongoing excavations beneath Jerusalem’s Old City.

The magnificent building is a new addition to the Western Wall Tunnels Tour, which allows visitors to see the millennia-old metropolis that lives in a time warp under today’s bustling capital.

According to the IAA, the Roman-era edifice stood off a prominent road leading to the Temple Mount and was used as a triclinium, or eating room, for significant members of society on their way to worship.

The massive structure will soon be open to the public as part of the Western Wall Tunnels Tour, which has been redesigned to create new paths and experiences based on several new routes that cut through thousands of years of history, as well as today’s modern use of parts of the tunnels as prayer and event halls.

Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public as part of the Western Wall Tunnels Tour in Jerusalem's Old City. (Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)
Stepped pool installed in one of the chambers of the magnificent 2,000-year-old building in Jerusalem’s Old City in the late Second Temple period that served as a ritual bath.(Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)

“This is, without doubt, one of the most magnificent public buildings from the Second Temple period that has ever been uncovered outside the Temple Mount walls in Jerusalem,” said excavation director Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach in an IAA press release on Thursday.

The stunning building, which was originally built with an elaborate water fountain and beautiful Corinthian capitals, experienced a series of structural alterations throughout its 50 years of usage prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Weksler-Bdolach told The Times of Israel.

Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public as part of the Western Wall Tunnels Tour in Jerusalem's Old City. (Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)
Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public as part of the Western Wall Tunnels Tour in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)

According to Weksler-Bdolach, originally archaeologists had thought the “city hall” was constructed during the earlier Hasmonean period.

However, after taking some ancient floors and carbon-14 dating of the organic materials at the bottom of the building, as well as the discovery of coins and pottery fragments, archaeologists determined the time frame of this gorgeous building to be no earlier than 20 AD. She pointed out that because the site was only partially excavated to protect other important underground structures from other eras, it is more challenging to accurately date and research it. “Every building is important; we cannot take all the buildings apart,” she said.

Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach, excavation director in the Western Wall Tunnels on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. (Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)
Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach, excavation director in the Western Wall Tunnels on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. (Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority)

What archaeologists know is that during its 50-year occupation, Weksler-Bdolach said that this large public building was divided into three different spaces, the fountain was decommissioned, and what appeared to be a ritual bath or mikveh was added. Just before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Despite the obvious Roman influence on the structure’s architecture, Jerusalem was still a culturally Jewish city at the time, according to Weksler-Bdolach. The embellishments found in the areas — a carved cornice with pilasters (flat supporting pillars) — did not feature graven images, which are forbidden by the Torah.

She said the hall was likely used by city, versus Temple, officials who wanted to impress their guests.

“Visitors to the site can now envisage the opulence of the place: the two side chambers served as ornate reception rooms and between them was a magnificent fountain with water gushing out from lead pipes incorporated in the midst of the Corinthian capitals protruding from the wall,” said Weksler-Bdolach in the press release.

Related Articles

8,500-year-old buildings discovered on Abu Dhabi’s Ghagha island

17 February 2022

17 February 2022

Archaeologists in Abu Dhabi have discovered startling new evidence of the Emirates’ first known structures, which date back more than...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

Ancient Three Fortresses: Layered Defense on Egypt’s Eastern Border at Tell Abu Saifi

11 May 2025

11 May 2025

Archaeological excavations at the strategically significant Tell Abu Saifi site in North Sinai have unearthed compelling evidence of Egypt’s long-standing...

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...

Ancient Cymbals Unearthed in Oman Reveal Shared Musical Traditions Across Bronze Age Cultures

8 April 2025

8 April 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in Oman have unveiled significant insights into the musical practices of Bronze Age societies, suggesting a rich...

1300-year-old stone sculpture from the ancient Turkish era found in Kazakhstan

3 August 2021

3 August 2021

A 1,300-year-old stone sculpture from the early Turkish period was discovered in Kazakhstan’s south, around 250 kilometers (155 miles) from...

Polish Archaeologists uncover a ancient residence and mysterious mask in Libya’s ancient city Ptolemais

15 January 2025

15 January 2025

In Libya’s ancient city of Ptolemais on the Mediterranean coast, Polish archaeologists have uncovered a dwelling equipped with an advanced...

China’s construction of the first archaeological museum which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors has been completed

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

Construction of the first archaeological museum in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi, which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors, was...

New discoveries show that Claros continued to serve as an oracle center after Christianity

14 September 2022

14 September 2022

Game boards and forked cross motifs dating to the fifth and seventh centuries AD were discovered at the ancient Greek...

Could the Kerkenes Settlement be Gordion the Second?

1 August 2022

1 August 2022

Although the settlement on the Kerkenes mountain, located within the borders of Sorgun district of Yozgat, has been known and...

200,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the northern part of Saudi Arabia

5 November 2023

5 November 2023

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) of Saudi Arabia has announced that archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in...

A newly Discovered Church in Sudan could be a Cathedral

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

Archaeologists have found the remains of the largest church known from medieval Nubia in old Dongola (Sudan). Dongola was the...

Danish museum says Vikings had stained glass Windows

15 October 2023

15 October 2023

New research shows that  Viking Age windows were created using stained glass in the 9th century, contrary to popular belief...

A ‘very rare’ clay figurine of god Mercury and a previously unknown Roman settlement were discovered at the excavation site in Kent

23 February 2024

23 February 2024

At a previously unknown Roman settlement that was formerly next to a busy port but is now 10 miles from...

A Small Sandstone Carved With A Viking Ship May Be Oldest Picture Ever Found In Iceland

16 June 2023

16 June 2023

Archaeologists in East Iceland have found a sandstone carved with a Viking ship that may be the oldest picture ever...