Archaeologists Uncover Second Temple-Era Jewish Settlement in Southern Israel

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered a previously unknown Jewish settlement dating to the Second Temple period in the Carmei Gat neighborhood. The site, located between the Judean Lowlands and the northern Negev, is the first of its kind documented in this specific region. Excavation directors Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi, Maayan Margulis, and Shira Lifshitz noted that the community likely abandoned the area during the second-century Bar Kokhba Revolt before it was resettled in the Byzantine era.

A significant find at the site is an intact 2,000-year-old ritual purification bath, or mikveh, alongside stone measuring vessels. Because stone was considered resistant to ritual impurity under Jewish law, such items were common during this period. To preserve the 25-ton structure from ongoing residential construction, engineers utilized a 300-ton crane to relocate the bath to a storage facility in Beit Guvrin. Officials intend to return the mikveh to the neighborhood as a public installation once development is complete.