Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street)

The 600-meter stepped street from the Pool of Siloam up to the Temple Mount, built under Pilate

Herod, Yeshua & Jerusalem's Fall · road / harbor, city / site · Accepted by scholars · found 2004

How Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) was found

Found while tracing the drainage channel north from the Pool of Siloam. Excavated by tunneling beneath the modern Silwan neighborhood. More than 100 coins sealed under the paving stones date no later than 30/31 CE, pointing to Pilate as the builder.

What it is

A monumental stepped street about 8 meters wide and 600 meters long, paved with large limestone slabs, with a stone-lined drainage channel below it and shops along its sides. It climbs about 30 meters from the pool to the Temple Mount's southwest corner.

Why it matters for the Bible

This is the road pilgrims took from the Siloam mikveh to the Temple, so the blind man of John 9 and Yeshua himself would have walked it. The coin evidence (Szanton, Regev and colleagues, 2019) shows Pilate spent heavily on Jerusalem's public works, giving a fuller picture of the governor than the Gospels' trial scene alone.

The Hebrew word: a-LAH

עָלָה

עָלָה is pronounced a-LAH and means to go up — the verb for going up to Jerusalem and the Temple (Strong's H5927).

People this discovery connects to

• Pontius Pilate — פּוֹנְטְיוּס פִּילָטוּס (PON-tyus pee-LAH-tus) — Roman prefect of Judea 26–36 CE

Places

• City of David — עִיר דָּוִד (Eer Dah-VEED) — city of David

Events

Pilgrimage to the Temple · Healing of the blind man (John 9) · Siege of 70 CE (rebels hid in the drain)

Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) in Scripture

Isaiah 8:6 First mention of Siloam in Scripture.

Psalms 122:1-2 'Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem' — a pilgrim song for this ascent.

John 9:7 The blind man goes down to Siloam and returns seeing — along this road.

Questions people ask

What is Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street)?
A monumental stepped street about 8 meters wide and 600 meters long, paved with large limestone slabs, with a stone-lined drainage channel below it and shops along its sides. It climbs about 30 meters from the pool to the Temple Mount's southwest corner.

When was Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) discovered?
It was found in 2004 by Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron (Israel Antiquities Authority / City of David), 2004–2013; tunnel excavation continued by Joe Uziel, Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi, opened 2019, at City of David, from the Pool of Siloam to the Western Wall, Jerusalem.

Where is Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) today?
In place; City of David National Park (partly open to visitors since 2019).

Which Bible verses does Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) relate to?
Isaiah 8:6, Psalms 122:1-2, John 9:7.

Related discoveries

• שִׁלֹחַ
  Pool of Siloam
  The Second Temple-period stepped pool where Yeshua sent the blind man to wash
• מִלּוֹא
  Stepped Stone Structure
  A giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo
• חוֹתָם
  Gedaliah son of Pashhur Bulla
  Seal of a second official from Jeremiah 38, found beside the Jehucal bulla
• בָּמָה
  City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary Rooms
  Eight bedrock chambers near the Gihon with an altar, olive press and winepress, sealed in the 8th century BCE
• מִלּוֹא
  The Millo: Where Was It?
  The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo
• סֹפֵר
  House of Bullae and the Gemariah son of Shaphan Bulla
  Fifty-one seal impressions baked hard in the fire of 586 BCE, one naming a scribe from Jeremiah 36

Sources

• Szanton, Regev, Uziel et al., 'Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount', Tel Aviv 46 (2019)
• Wikipedia: Stepped Street (Jerusalem)

Open Pilgrimage Road (Stepped Street) in Hebrew Explorer →

Part of Biblical Archaeology — 533 discoveries that run alongside the biblical story · Herod, Yeshua & Jerusalem's Fall

Open Hebrew Explorer — 30+ free study tools →