Ancient Theater in Jerusalem
An ancient Roman theater is excavated in Jerusalem’s old city, October 16, 2017. CREDIT: Olivier Fitoussi
Archaeology in Jerusalem continues to impress us all. New things are being uncovered on a regular basis, adding more an more details to the context of the Bible.
The Archaeologists
Israel’s Antiquities Authority’s Dr. Joe Uziel works in an ancient Roman theater in Jerusalem’s old city, October 16, 2017. CREDIT: Olivier Fitouss
“From a research perspective, this is a sensational find. The discovery was a real surprise. When we started excavating, our goal was to date Wilson’s Arch. We did not imagine that a window would open for us onto the mystery of Jerusalem’s lost theater …The discovery of the theater-like structure is the real drama,” Dr. Joe Uziel, Tehillah Lieberman and Dr. Avi Solomon, the archeologists in charge of the excavations, said in a statement.
Unlike larger theaters found at places like Caesarea and Beth Shean, this theater was quite small. The archeologists suggest that this is a theater-like structure of the type known in the Roman world as an odeon. These smaller structures were primarily used for musical performances. According to the article, it was also stated that the structure may also have been a bouleuterion, a place where the city council met.
Remarkably, the archaeologists believe the theater was never used.
Questions
Workers restore a ceiling of the Western Wall tunnels near the site where Israeli Antiquity Authority recently discovered an ancient roman theatre, Jerusalem, October 16, 2017. CREDIT: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP
The questions we raise are two-fold: 1). What is the precise date of this theater? and 2). Why do the archaeologist believe that the theater was not used?
Yet a third question that arises is one that connects us to the Bible – “Is this a theater Jesus would have seen Himself during His visits (perhaps a total of five) to Jerusalem as recorded in the Gospels? It is fun to speculate.
Here is an amazing video of this incredible discovery:
