Herodian Pool in the Monastery Basement
The Convent of the Sisters of Zion is located on Via Dolorosa street in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The convent belongs to the Sisters of Zion, an order of nuns founded by the French Jewish-convert brothers Alphonse and Theodore Ratisbon in 1843. The order has another convent in the village of Ein Karem in Jerusalem.
In 1857, the Ratisbon brothers purchased the land in the area of the Ecce Homo arch, the place where, according to Christian tradition, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate introduced Jesus to the Jews with the words "Here is the man" or in Latin Ecce Homo. The Ratisbon brothers built a complex on the site containing a monastery and a church, which was inaugurated in 1868. In the basement of the monastery, a few meters below the present-day street level, lies a hidden and fascinating archaeological complex.
During the construction works, significant archaeological remains were uncovered in the area. Previously, these remains were identified as being related to the Passion of Christ, however today researchers agree that they date to the early days of Aelia Capitolina. The Roman city was built on top of the ruins of Jerusalem around 130 AD, and hence the remains date about a hundred years later than the time of Christ..
The central remains is the Ecce Homo arch, part of a triumphal arch built by the emperor Hadrian, which can be seen on the Via Dolorosa street near the monastery. It is possible that the gate was used as the entrance to the eastern forum of the city built by the Romans.
The monastery was built near the place where the Citadel of Antonia stood, erected by Herod as part of the Temple Mount fortifications and named after his Roman patron, Marcus Antonius. The citadel stood on a hill and a moat was dug around it, and inside it, as part of the Herodian water system, a small pool was cut which is mentioned in Josephus. The pool was called "Strothion", ancient Greek for "lark" or "sparrow", because it is relatively small compared to other pools of its time. It was carved out of the rock and lay under the sky. In the days of Hadrian a forum was built above it, as mentioned, and it was covered with vaults and became an underground water reservoir. The pool which lies today deep underground is cool and dim, and during the winter it still accumulates rainwater.
Large, grooved paving stones were also found in the compound, which according to Christian tradition are part of the Lithostrotos - the floor on which the trial of Jesus took place. A fascinating find that has been well preserved is an engraving on the floor of a board game called "The King's Game", which was used by the Roman soldiers to pass the long hours of watch.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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