Second Temple Jewish settlement found between Jerusalem and TA

Structures may have been used as hideout in Bar Kochba Revolt.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
benshemen ruins 298 (photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
benshemen ruins 298
(photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
A Second Temple Jewish settlement has been uncovered between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, including structures that may have been used as hiding places during the Bar Kochba Revolt, Israel's Antiquities Authority announced Monday. The remains, found during a salvage archeological excavation by the Ben-Shemen interchange, include two-millennium-old structures, and several Jewish ritual baths or mikvaot. An elaborate arched structure made of hewn stone at the side of one of the rituals baths was also found fully intact. Secret passages discovered inside the structures at the site led archeologists to surmise that these were secret hideouts dug during the Bar Kochba Revolt in 132 CE against the Roman Empire. Similar hiding places have been found in the area in the past. The discovery of the site clarifies that the size of Jewish settlement in the area was larger than what had been assumed in the past, said Ronit Lupo, the director of excavations at the site. An assortment of glass vessels, candles, cooking utensils and coins were also found.