MEXICO: A mysterious, well preserved 2,000-year-old pyramid-shaped staircase constructed of large ashlar stones was recently uncovered by the Antiquities Authority on an ancient street in the City of David, adjacent to the destroyed Second Temple, the authority announced on Monday.
The structure was revealed during an excavation of an ancient roadway ascending from the Siloam (Shiloah) Pool to the Temple Mount, carried out in coordination with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation.
According to archaeologists Nahshon Szanton and Joe Uziel, who directed the excavation on behalf of the authority, such a find in the area is unprecedented.
“The structure exposed is unique,” the archaeologists said in a joint statement. “To date, such a structure has yet to be found along the stepped street in the numerous excavations that have taken place in Jerusalem, and to the best of our knowledge, outside of it.”
For this reason, they said, its exact use “remains enigmatic.”
“Given the lack of a clear archaeological parallel to the stepped-structure, the purpose of the staircase remains a mystery,” they said, adding that the structure is built along the street at a location that is clearly visible from afar by passers-by making their way to the Temple. “We believe the structure was a kind of monumental podium that attracted the public’s attention when walking on the city’s main street. It would be very interesting to know what was said there 2,000 years ago. Were messages announced here on behalf of the government? Perhaps news or gossip, or admonitions and street preaching? Unfortunately we do not know.”
