The discovery of a rare 2,000-year-old measuring table is believed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to point to the location of the ancient Temple Mount marketplace.
The artifact was recently discovered in the City of David National Park excavations. Only the third of its kind to be found in Jerusalem, the location of the table on the road to the Temple Mount suggests the main agora, or marketplace, has been revealed.
You can see from the image of the measuring table above there is a hole in the bottom of the vessel – this measurement was used to calibrate the shopkeepers vessels to ensure a standard measurement was used by merchants to sell their liquid goods – possible wine or oil.
Besides the measuring table, archaeologists also found dozens of weights, further bolstering the theory that this was indeed the central location for commerce in Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period.
A visit to the City of David National Park is an absolute must for pilgrims touring the Holy Land!
To learn more about this recent discovery read the article from Smithsonian Magazine.
Featured image by Ari Levi for IAA.
