Buried for 2,000 Years: Ancient Second Temple Discovery Found Beneath Western Wall Plaza

A Jewish person living during the Second Temple period — roughly 516 BCE to 70 CE — was required to immerse in a mikveh before entering the Temple. As a result, ritual baths were built throughout Jerusalem, near main roads, public buildings, and private homes, forming an essential part of daily life in the holy city. One of those mikvehs has now been uncovered in an extraordinary location — hidden beneath the Western Wall Plaza. Hewn directly into the bedrock during the final days of the Second Temple period, the mikveh lay sealed for nearly 2,000 years.