A building project in the Garden of Gethsemane led to the discovery of an ancient find. For the first time, archaeologists have uncovered evidence from Second Temple times linking the area to Jesus day.
For generations, the Garden of Gethsemane has been revered as the place where Jesus prayed (Matt. 26:36) on the night he was betrayed before his crucifixion as related in Matthew 26:36.
The church that stands (also called The Church of All Nations and The Basilica of the Agony) there now was built at the foot of the Mount of Olives between 1919 and 1924. When the foundations were laid remains from the Byzantine and Crusader periods were found, but nothing from Second Temple times when Jesus would have been there.
Amanda Borschel-Dan is The Times of Israel s Jewish World and Archaeology editor.
Second Temple-era ritual bath that was discovered during construction work on a modern tunnel under the 1920 Catholic Church of All Nations. (Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Second Temple-era ritual bath that was discovered during construction work on a modern tunnel under the 1920 Catholic Church of All Nations. (Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Archaeologist Amit Reem next to the ritual bath at Gethsemane on Jerusalem s Mount of Olives. (Yaniv Berman/ Israel Antiquities Authority)
Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, next to the ancient ritual bath. (Yoli Schwartz/ Israel Antiquities Authority)