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Abstract
For over a century and a half, excavations in Jerusalem have been uncovering segments of the city’s Early Roman period network of streets, particularly the street that wended its way from the southernmost gate of the city, alongside the Siloam Pool and towards the Temple Mount. The importance of this street is evident from its dimensions as well as from the quality of its construction, which undoubtedly required an expansive workforce that included skilled labourers and craftsmen. Based on archaeological and historical data, the creation of the street has variously been attributed to some time in the Herodian period, to the reign of Herod and to the days of Herod Agrippa II. Here, based on numismatic evidence, we propose a more precise timeframe. We suggest that the street was constructed in the 1st century CE, in the middle of the first period of direct Roman rule, specifically during Pontius Pilate’s tenure as governor of the newly named province of Judea. We bolster this claim with a discussion of Pilate’s mandate and goals as provincial governor.
The Temple Mount was the largest urban building project in Jerusalem in antiquity (see, e.g., Segal 2013: 266, no. 546; Weksler-Bdolah 2015; Reich and Baruch 2017). Not only was the Temple and its temenos constructed in a grandiose manner; the streets leading towards it were also extremely well and impressively built. First and foremost among these was the carefully designed and monumental street that climbed from the southern gate of the city along the Tyropoeon Valley to the western side of the Temple Mount (henceforth termed the Stepped Street). This and other thoroughfares in the vicinity of the Temple gave pilgrims passage towards the sacred precinct. Beginning in the 19th century, various segments of these streets have been exposed in numerous Jerusalem excavations. Although their construction can in broad terms be attributed to the Early Roman period, a more precise dating of one or more of them can have far-reaching implications for understanding the city’s urban development in the period between the reign of Herod the Great (37–4 BCE) and the First Jewish Revolt (66 CE).
Several scholars have given a more refined timeframe for the construction of the street, currently being uncovered in the Tyropoeon Valley. The reign of Herod himself (Mazar 1971: 8, 10; see also Kogan-Zehavi 1995: 95), and that of his great-grandson, Herod Agrippa II (53–66 CE; Reich and Billig 1996: 137; 1998: 180; 1999: 35; 2008: 1809; see also Reich 2015: 404), have been suggested. In this article we present data from our excavations on the Stepped Street that provide evidence for a narrow timeframe for the construction of the street in the period when Roman officials governed the city.1 More precisely, we maintain that the street’s earliest foundations were prepared after 17/8 CE and that the project was completed after 30/1 or 31/2 CE and certainly before 41/2 CE.
Archaeological excavations along the Stepped Street
Major archaeological finds along the Stepped Street (Fig. 1), leading from the southern gate of the city at the meeting point of the Tyropoeon and Kidron Valleys to the Temple Mount, attest to its importance to Jerusalem’s urban fabric in the Early Roman period (see Table 1). Charles Warren dug in Jerusalem during the last third of the 19th century. He was the first to expose portions of this street during his excavations of a series of shafts and tunnels along the Temple Mount walls (Warren 1884: Pls. 28–30). In the late 19th century, Bliss and Dickie (1898: 132–164) exposed a significant portion of the street farther to the south, once again in a small tunnel that followed the course of the street and the drainage channel below it. In fact, it was the channel―the main artery of Jerusalem’s drainage―that led Bliss and Dickie to conclude correctly that they were exposing the same street that Warren had revealed (Bliss and Dickie 1898: 160–164). In the early 20th century, Johns uncovered a small portion of the eastern side of the street in the same area (Reich and Shukron 2007: 44–45, n. 1 for Johns’s original report). Later, Kenyon exposed two other portions of the street―the eastern side in her Area N, and the southern city gate in Area F―both of which had already been unearthed by Bliss and Dickie (Kenyon 1974: 247–248, 22, Pls. 6–7, 100).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 1 Location map, marking excavation sites (drawing: D. Levi, IAA; printed by permission of the Survey of Israel). Numbers refer to Column 1 in Table 1.
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Figure 1 Location map, marking excavation sites (drawing: D. Levi, IAA; printed by permission of the Survey of Israel). Numbers refer to Column 1 in Table 1.
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Table 1. Excavations along the Early Roman street and suggestions for dating
In the late 1960s, excavations by Mazar and Ben-Dov uncovered significant portions of the street in the vicinity of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (Mazar 1971: 8, 10). In the mid-1980s, farther north, within the compound of the Western Wall Tunnels, Bahat exposed what he defined as the northern edge of the street (2013: 286–302) . In the 1990s, Reich and Billig (Reich and Billig 2008: 1809; Reich 2015: 404–405) completed Mazar’s work in the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, exposing the extension of the street to the north, to the Mughrabi Bridge. Between 2007 and 2008, Onn conducted excavations in the Western Wall Tunnels (Onn et al. 2017), to the west of Warren’s Gate, where a flagstone pavement was found of the same type that had been reported by Bahat, Reich and Billig and Mazar and that had been uncovered in the Stepped Street. The ceramic and numismatic finds below this pavement provided a secure date in the 1st century CE.2 At the same time, Reich and Shukron (2005, 2006, 2007, 2011c) exposed portions of the southern segment of the street that led to the Siloam Pool. They continued to excavate to the north, exposing the length of the drainage channel that ran beneath the street, from the southern end of the City of David (Shukron and Reich 2008) all the way to the area of Robinson’s Arch (Reich and Shukron 2011d). There they also uncovered the infrastructure of the street, built along the foundation courses of the Western Wall (Reich and Shukron 2011a, 2011b). In the latter excavation, Shukron revealed a ritual bath (miqwe) that was put out of use by the foundations of the Western Wall. The fill of the ritual bath (Miqwe 55) included pottery (such as pear-knifed oil-lamps) and coins, the latest of which date, according to Shukron, to the rule of Valerius Gratus, struck in 17/8 (Shukron 2012: 21–23, 27; Fig. 21). Farther north, an additional ritual bath (Miqwe 92) was exposed, which extended beneath the foundation of the Western Wall; Shukron (ibid.: Figs. 16, 21) mentioned that the latest coins found there date to the reign of Augustus, in 5/6 CE (Meshorer 2001: No. 311). Further examination of the coins from Shukron’s excavations led Ariel to date the latest items from Miqwe 55 to between 17/8 and 24/5 CE (cf. Meshorer 2001: No. 327; Ariel in press).
Current excavations
Since 2013, two excavations exposed elements related to the Stepped Street. The first is located at the southern extent of the Tyropoeon Valley, where it was exposed from the Siloam Pool for a length of ca. 220 m (Fig. 1: 13). In probes beneath the street, coins were retrieved in the layers of the constructional fill which had been placed and subsequently sealed beneath the pavement. These fills had been deliberately dumped below a hard layer of mortar. The mortar separated the constructional fills and the pavement stones in order to level the area according to the desired height of the intended street, and also to provide support for the pavers. The latest coin found in these sealed contexts dates to 30/1 CE (Meshorer 2001: No. 333); it was issued by the governor of Judea under Tiberius, i.e., Pontius Pilate (Szanton and Uziel 2015: 24, Fig. 6).
The second excavation was conducted farther to the north (Fig. 1: 14), where the southwest corner of the Temple Mount was exposed, along with the infrastructure of the street and buildings alongside it. Here, too, pottery sherds and coins were found in the constructional fills sealed within the substructure; the latest coins date to between 17/18 to 24/25 CE (Hagbi and Uziel in press; Ariel in press).
Area S
Since July 2013, there has been an on-going excavation in the City of David National Park, along the course of the Roman period Stepped Street (Fig. 1). The excavation (Area S) is located approximately 220 m north of the Siloam Pool and 360 m south of the Temple Mount. The street is at least 7.5 m wide (not including the curbstones). In most of the excavation area, the eastern and central portions were uncovered (Fig. 2). The street was bordered on both sides by the 0.6 m wide curbstones; they were built of finely-carved limestone of the Mizzi-Hilu Formation in the same manner as the street, raised approximately 0.15 m above street level. The street was sealed beneath a thick destruction layer, attributed to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE (see, e.g., Kenyon 1974: 254, Pl. 104; Geva 2010). Along the eastern edge of the street, a stepped podium was unearthed (Podium 1001). Close by a group of broken pottery vessels was found, as well as glass, metal and coins dating to the days of the First Jewish Revolt (Szanton and Uziel 2015). In this area, the charred trunk of a palm tree was located (Roth, Szanton and Langgut 2016: 144, Fig. 6). The destruction debris was sealed by a layer of stones that apparently originated from the buildings that had lined the street and collapsed during the destruction of the city. The many coins discovered in the destruction level included those minted during the revolt (Meshorer 2001: No. 196; Fig. 3a), thus providing a clear dating for the destruction and a terminus ante quem for use of the street to 70 CE.3 In addition to the street itself, portions of installations and buildings along its edge, as well as the podium mentioned above, were uncovered (for further discussion of the podium and its function, see Szanton and Uziel 2015).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 2 Plan of the Stepped Street in Area S and the main drainage channel below it (in blue) (surveying and plans: V. Essman, and Y. Shmidov, IAA).
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Figure 2 Plan of the Stepped Street in Area S and the main drainage channel below it (in blue) (surveying and plans: V. Essman, and Y. Shmidov, IAA).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 3 Coins from the excavations of the Stepped Street: (a) coin from the First Jewish Revolt found in the layer above the pavement of the Stepped Street (Meshorer 2001: No. 196); (b) coin of the Roman governor who ruled Judea under Emperor Tiberius in the year 30/1 CE (ibid.: No. 333), found sealed under the Stepped Street; (c) coin of the Roman governor of Judea under Emperor Augustus from 5/6 to 10/11 CE (cf. ibid: No. 311), found under the Stepped Street and alongside the wall of the drainage channel.
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Figure 3 Coins from the excavations of the Stepped Street: (a) coin from the First Jewish Revolt found in the layer above the pavement of the Stepped Street (Meshorer 2001: No. 196); (b) coin of the Roman governor who ruled Judea under Emperor Tiberius in the year 30/1 CE (ibid.: No. 333), found sealed under the Stepped Street; (c) coin of the Roman governor of Judea under Emperor Augustus from 5/6 to 10/11 CE (cf. ibid: No. 311), found under the Stepped Street and alongside the wall of the drainage channel.
Probes were dug in several locations beneath the street pavement. The importance of these probes is that the finds provide a terminus post quem for the construction of the street. Whereas ceramic evidence from such probes offers a broad chronological framework for the construction project, the presence of coins is of particular importance as they can afford very narrow dating for the construction. In total, 22 coins were discovered beneath the street in three probes. The first probe was executed between the pavement of the street and the capstones of the drainage channel that ran beneath it (Fig. 4; for a description of the drainage channel, see, e.g., Reich and Shukron 2011d). Here the constructional fills (0.7 m thick) were composed of a sequence of thin layers of compact sediment and crushed ceramic sherds. They were intended to raise the level of the street to the desired height above the drainage channel, and at the same time provide proper support for the massive stone pavers, the largest of which would have measured 2 × 1 × 0.5 m (about 2.5 tons). Between the constructional fills and the paving stones, a 0.2 m thick layer of hard gray mortar with small stones was exposed, similar to what Bliss and Dickie described (1898: 140) for their probes beneath the street. Thirteen coins were discovered in this probe, in the layers sealed between the pavement and the drainage channel’s capstones. The most recent coin dates to the year 30/1 CE (Meshorer 2001: No. 333), during the rule of Pontius Pilate, prefect under Tiberius (Fig. 3b). The fill excavated here abuts a support wall built beneath the street as part of its infrastructure and is bonded with the capstones of the drainage channel (Szanton and Uziel 2015: 32, Fig. 5). Hence the capstones of the drainage channel and the street were built together.
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 4 Looking southeast on the section of the sealed earth between the mortar foundation of the street (above) and the roofing slabs of the drainage channel (below) (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
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Figure 4 Looking southeast on the section of the sealed earth between the mortar foundation of the street (above) and the roofing slabs of the drainage channel (below) (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 5 The pavement of the street and the solid foundation that was exposed in a place where no paving stones were preserved (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
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Figure 5 The pavement of the street and the solid foundation that was exposed in a place where no paving stones were preserved (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
A second probe was dug beneath a broken pavement stone, after its removal, where similar constructional fills as those described above were encountered. Samples were only taken from sediments that were stratigraphically attributed with certainty as abutting the outer face of the drainage channel wall. Loose fills that may have washed in at a later time―perhaps infiltrating between the pavement stones when the street was in use―were not considered. Three coins were identified in this probe, the latest of which dates to 5/6–10/11 CE (cf. Meshorer 2001: No. 311), during the reign of Augustus (Fig. 3c).
A third probe was dug at the northern edge of the excavation, where the pavement of the street was not found. Despite the lack of pavement stones, the street’s infrastructure, described above, was still intact and found abutting pavement stones to its south and west (Fig. 5). Here, we removed the gray, mortar-like material, revealing once again constructional fills that abutted the capstones of the drainage channel. Two coins were uncovered in the gray, mortar-like material; they date to the middle of the reign of Herod (24–15 BCE; Ariel and Fontanille 2012: 182) and Herod Archelaus (4 BCE–6 CE; ibid.: No.73), whereas in the fills sealed beneath this layer, four coins were found, the latest of which was minted by Herod, also from the middle of his reign (ibid.: No. 59).
The numismatic evidence from the three probes in Area S clearly indicates that the street was not constructed during Herod’s rule but significantly later. This is evident from coins dating to 4 BCE–6 CE (ibid.: No.73), during Archelaus’ reign; 5/6–10/11 CE, during the time of Augustus; and most significantly to 30/1 CE, during the reign of Tiberius (ibid.: No. 333; Fig. 3b–c). These coins provide a clear terminus post quem for the construction of the street some 35 years after Herod’s death. The latest coin was found in the most secure of the three probes, in a location where the pavement, the gray mortar-like material and the drainage capstones were all in situ (Fig. 4).
Western Wall foundations
Some 360 m north of Area S, excavations (10 × 2.5 m in dimension) were conducted in the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (Fig. 1:14), where a portion of the support system of the same street was exposed (Fig. 1; Hagbi and Uziel in press). These excavations, located between the support wall of the eastern edge of the street and the Western Wall, were located just south of the Reich and Shukron excavations (2011a, 2011b) and the Shukron excavations (2012), where this support system was uncovered beneath Robinson’s Arch. The current excavations were conducted south of a shaft that Warren had excavated, some 10 m north of the corner of the Temple Mount precinct. The exposed support system (Fig. 6) abutted the foundation of the Western Wall, sealing earlier installations and features carved on the bedrock. Three construction phases were defined in the current excavation. The earliest phase included the levelling and smoothing out of the bedrock (Fig. 7), as well as the construction of the lowest foundation courses of the Western Wall. The next phase included a network of chambers built of fieldstones that were adjacent to the foundations of the Western Wall. The chambers were then packed with constructional fills composed of layers of quarrying refuse (possibly related to the finishing of the stones of the Western Wall; see Tosefta, Kelim Batra 2a), overlaid by alternating layers of fill (Fig. 8) that yielded pottery, glass, animal bones and coins dating to the 1st century CE (further discussion below).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 6 Plan of infrastructure of the street and buildings alongside the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (surveying and plans: V. Essman, and Y. Shmidov, IAA).
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Figure 6 Plan of infrastructure of the street and buildings alongside the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (surveying and plans: V. Essman, and Y. Shmidov, IAA).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 7 Signs of rock-cutting and smoothing of bedrock near the foundations of the Western Wall (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
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Figure 7 Signs of rock-cutting and smoothing of bedrock near the foundations of the Western Wall (photograph: A. Peretz, IAA).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 8 View of the foundations of the Western Wall (left) and the retaining wall that abutted it, built on bedrock (below). To the right are the constructive layers that filled the support system (photograph: M. Hagbi, IAA).
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Figure 8 View of the foundations of the Western Wall (left) and the retaining wall that abutted it, built on bedrock (below). To the right are the constructive layers that filled the support system (photograph: M. Hagbi, IAA).
At the southern end of the excavation, near the southwest corner of the Temple Mount, the roofing of the drainage channel was exposed. At this point, the drainage channel has a vaulted roof, exposed in Reich and Shukron’s excavations, which they dated to a second stage in the use of the channel, after the expansion of the Temple Mount had created a need to divert the channel to the west (see Ritmeyer 2006: 233–235; Reich and Shukron 2011a, 2011b). Above the vaulted roof of the drainage channel, two walls belonging to the support system of the street were built (see Fig. 6, Walls 14047 and 14045). The support system included the following elements: a north−south wall built directly beneath the street’s eastern curbstone (Wall 102 following the numbering of this wall in Shukron’s excavations), and a series of east−west walls built between this wall and the Western Wall, at intervals of 2 m. In this manner, a system of chambers measuring 2 × 2 m was constructed along the Western Wall; three of the chambers were excavated (Fig. 6). Earth fills had been dumped into these chambers in order to raise the level of the street and the structures constructed between them and the Western Wall (see Reich and Billig 1999). As mentioned above, the lowest layer of these fills was composed of quarrying chips that likely originated from the final carving of the stones of the Western Wall. Above this layer, a series of earth fills that sloped from west to east were excavated; they contained pottery, glass, animal bones, charcoal and coins. The pottery found included complete cooking pots, storage jars, flasks, bowls and lamps. Of particular interest was a tall stand (Fig. 9), known from the excavations at Masada, where it was dated to the 1st century CE (see Bar-Nathan 2006: 235–238).
Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount
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21 October 2019Figure 9 A tall stand dated to the 1st century CE from constructive layers sealed below the street (photograph: C. Amit, IAA).
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Figure 9 A tall stand dated to the 1st century CE from constructive layers sealed below the street (photograph: C. Amit, IAA).
Seventy-nine coins were identified in the fills, the most recent of which date to the period of Tiberius’s rule. Particularly telling is one coin found within one of the walls of the support system which dates to the years 17/8–24/5 CE (cf. Meshorer 2001: No. 327). As the walls were constructed prior to the placement of the constructional fills―and prior to the street―it is clear that the entire system was not initiated before the second decade of the 1st century CE. The coins found in the construction fills fit well with the coins found beneath the street described above, the most recent of which dates to 30/1 CE (Meshorer 2001: No. 333). Furthermore, these coins also accord with the date of a coin described by Reich and Billig (1996: 137; 1998: 180; 1999: 35; 2008: 1809; see also Reich 2015: 404) as the latest that they exposed beneath the street, also dating to 30/1 CE (Meshorer 2001: No. 333). This coin was found directly above the support system described here.
Discussion
The current work on the Stepped Street is not the first time finds dating to the 1st century CE have been unearthed from excavations beneath the ancient streets in Jerusalem. Johns’s excavations in the 1930s exposed a ceramic repertoire beneath the street, which should be dated to the 1st century CE (Reich and Shukron 2009: 8). A similar ceramic assemblage was retrieved by Reich and Billig beneath the street in the vicinity of Robinson’s Arch (Reich and Billig 1998, 1999, 2008; Reich 2015), as well as in Shukron’s (2012) excavations of the support structure of the street, at the foot of the Western Wall. Numismatic evidence for dating of the street to the 1st century CE was originally reported in Mazar and Ben-Dov’s excavations in the substructure of the streets along the southern and western walls of the Temple Mount, although the excavators at the time attributed these coins to repairs rather than original construction (Mazar 1971: 8, 10). Of particular relevance to the topic at hand is the discovery of a coin dating to 30/1 CE, minted in the days of Tiberius (Meshorer 2001: No. 331) under the street outside the Gate of the Chain (Kogan-Zehavi 1995: 95). Still, the general term ‘Herodian’ was consistently used to describe the date of construction of the Stepped Street. Reich and Billig, who exposed the street beneath Robinson’s Arch and excavated beneath its pavement, also recovered coins, the latest of which date to the years when Pontius Pilate served as prefect (Meshorer 2001: No. 331; Reich and Billig 1999: 35; 2008: 1809; Reich 2015: 404–405).4 They rightfully noted that this date―in the fourth decade of the 1st century CE―only serves as a terminus post quem, with the actual construction of the street being somewhat later. In this light, Reich and Billig considered the historical reference by Josephus to construction―or more accurately, repaving―of streets in Jerusalem during the reign of Agrippa II.5 Considering the numismatic and historical evidence, Reich and Billig suggested that the street was constructed in the final decade prior to the Jewish Revolt under Agrippa II (see Reich and Billig 1996: 137, 1998: 180, 1999: 35; 2008: 1809; see also Reich 2015: 404).
The numismatic evidence now available is sufficient not only to determine the terminus post quem of the street as of 30/1 CE; the 101 coins found beneath the street level make a reevaluation of the dating of the street possible. With a lack of coins minted by Agrippa I or later found beneath the street level, we propose here that the street’s construction be attributed to a prefect who governed prior to Agrippa I―more precisely a prefect who administered Judea under Tiberius. Although the names of many prefects and procurators are known to us from Josephus’s writings, the coins themselves do not supply the procurators’ names, making it difficult to determine with certainty the exact years of their presence in Judea.6 Despite this, the current consensus places the coins described above as belonging to the time of Pilate, during the reign of Tiberius. We know that the street leading from the southern end of the city to the Temple Mount and running along the foot of the Western Wall predates the rule of Agrippa I (37–44 CE). We also know that the kingdom of Agrippa I expanded to Judea and Samaria only upon the ascent of Claudius in 41/2 CE, which is the same year that Agrippa I minted coins in the capital. Pilate seems to have been the most prominent prefect during the period in which the street’s construction began (subsequent to 17/8–24/5 CE) and when it was completed (prior to 40/1 CE). He was the last of the prefects to mint coins in Jerusalem before Agrippa I ascended the throne in Judea and minted coins of his own. The minting of coins by Agrippa I was extensive. It is the largest one-year issue by far of all the coins minted in Jerusalem, and, of course, of all coins found in excavations in the city (Ariel 1982: 322). After the death of Agrippa I, during the period of the procurators, coins were minted only in 54 CE during the final months of Claudius’s reign (Meshorer 2001: Nos. 340–344), and in 58/9 CE, in the fifth year of Nero’s reign (ibid.: No. 345). Hence the absence of coins issued by Agrippa I and of the procurators who followed him in the foundations and fills under the Stepped Street does not seem to be coincidental.7 Considering the quantities of coins that were retrieved from beneath the Stepped Street, it is likely that coins of Agrippa I or later would have been found had the street been constructed subsequent to 40/1 CE. Therefore, it is quite certain that the completion of the street cannot date to more than a decade after 30/1 CE.8 This leaves a very small window of time for the street’s completion. We therefore conclude that work on the Stepped Street began during the 20s of the 1st century CE and was completed in the 30s. The beginning of Pilate’s reign is still a matter of debate, with two current dates being suggested, 19 or 26 CE.9 Regardless of the actual date, it appears that commencement of construction would have been during his reign, sometime after 30/1 CE. The completion of the project is more difficult to determine with certainty, as the terminus ante quem suggested here is 40/1 CE, some four years subsequent to Pilate's return to Rome.
With the understanding that most if not all of the Stepped Street was built during Pilate’s tenure, it is possible to reflect on what such a large construction project suggests about the relationship between the Roman governors, especially Pilate, and Judea and Jerusalem.
Pontius Pilate the builder is known to us from several sources, namely the construction of the aqueduct described by Josephus (Ant. 18.60, and see Bond 2004), and the construction of the Tiberieum in Caesarea documented in a dedicatory inscription at the site (Sherwin- White 1964; Alföldy 1999; Taylor 2006). On the whole, the depictions of Pilate in the historical sources are quite negative.10 For example, the reference to the reconstruction of the aqueduct focuses on how money was looted from the Temple for its undertaking. However, if one looks at Pilate’s actions through the eyes of the Roman Empire, he may emerge as an active, albeit heavy-handed, prefect who worked towards glorifying Jerusalem through public building projects borrowed from the Roman world, such as the construction of an aqueduct that brought water to the city from springs in the Hebron Hills.11
It appears that Pilate strived for stability, as indicated by retaining the services of a single high priest throughout his reign. In comparison, Valerius Gratus who was succeeded by Pilate as prefect of Judea, changed high priest four times during his reign (Josephus, Ant.18.33–35). While Pilate tested the boundaries of Jewish belief, he also knew when to withdraw and compromise, as noted in his removal of the shields that had been brought into Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant. 18.55–59; Bond 2004: 20–21). Perhaps Pilate’s dominance can be seen in light of the fact that up until the year 32 CE, the Syrian governor, to whom Pilate was technically subordinate, was stationed in Rome. This may have left Pilate to fend for himself when dealing with problems in his province, and may also have given him some freedom in undertaking large scale building projects, which would have enhanced not only his standing, but that of the Roman Empire and of the Caesar (Bond 2004: 14–15).12 Indeed, the minting of coins by the prefect of Judea was limited to the time when his supervisor was in Rome. Upon the return of the Syrian governor in 32 CE, minting ceased in the time of the prefects. As for the negative reviews Pilate received in the historical sources, it has been argued that while the prefect’s “behavior is often seen as merely willful … actually, all of the incidents of his governorship are explicable by a single principle: as a loyal officer of Rome and Caesar he would not allow Judea special treatment” (Paltiel 1991:95).
Conclusions
In six excavations along Jerusalem’s network of stone paved streets, a recurring chronological picture has emerged of one of Jerusalem’s most monumental features of the late Second Temple period―the Stepped Street. There is now sufficient backing to secure a narrow dating of its construction: no earlier than 30 CE, no later than 40 CE. It appears therefore that the construction projects were undertaken during the time of the prefects’ rule of Judea and Jerusalem. Considering the chronological framework, the length of Pontius Pilate’s tenure and the stability in which his era can be viewed, alongside other infrastructure projects noted in the historical sources, it is likely that Pilate was behind the construction of one of Jerusalem's main streets. Prior to this study, none of Jerusalem's building projects, save for the aqueduct, was securely attributed to any Roman governor. The dating of the Stepped Street to this timeframe, specifically to the days of Pilate, is now one such project. The Stepped Street stands alongside Herod’s Temple and its temenos as one of Jerusalem's most grandiose Early Roman period monuments.
It is no longer possible, therefore, to refer to the Stepped Street as merely a ‘Herodian Street’—and it is no longer possible to view this first period of direct Roman governance in Judea as one exclusively characterised by self-interest and corruption.
Acknowledgments
The excavations discussed here were undertaken along the course of the Tyropoeon Valley, within the confines of the City of David National Park. The excavations were conducted by the authors, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and funded by the Elaʿd Foundation. We would like to thank the many people who assisted in the excavations, including A. Levy, A. Nagar, A. Zilberstein, S. Tal, N. Rom, M. Shor, M. Haber, A. Kessler, O. Amichai, O. Bejerano, O. Chalaf, T. Sadiel, H. Ripps, R. Pfuester, K. Palmberger, B. Soiblman (area supervisors), V. Essman, Y. Shmidov, O. Rose, A. Wiegmann (surveying and plans), N. Mizrahi, G. Berkovitz, A. Ajami, S. Rappaport and Y. Carmeli (foremen), A. Peretz, A. Fadidah, C. Amit and S. Halevy (photography), D. Tanami (metal detecting) and L. Kupershmidt (metals laboratory), as well as the Jerusalem district of the IAA for giving us the opportunity to take part in this important endeavour.
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*Extends beyond map.
Notes
1 The chronology of the period between Herod’s death in 4 BCE and the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt in 66 CE is generally determined according to the descriptions in historical sources, particularly Josephus’s Antiquities 18. Although scholars debate the specific years of certain prefects/ procurators, the general division of the period is accepted as beginning with the reign of Archelaus, followed by the appointment of prefects who governed Judea between 6 CE and 37 CE, after which Herod Agrippa I was crowned, with the appointment of procurators subsequent to Agrippa I’s death. (After his reign the title of governor changed from prefect to procurator—a term which is generic for all of the governers). The two most prominent prefects described by Josephus are Gratus and Pilate, who governed Judea between 14–37 CE. Although the exact chronology of their reigns is debated, Pilate’s reign lasted at least ten years, from 26−37 CE (e.g., Bond 2004), if not significantly longer, as suggested by Schwartz (1992: 182–201; see also, Lönnqvist 2000; Kokkinos 2012).
2 We would like to thank S. Weksler-Bdolah for sharing this information with us.
3 The events of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem are described in detail in the writings of Josephus, who indicates that the city was burnt all the way down to the Siloam pool. The location of the current excavations coupled with the discovery of a thick destruction level covering the street seem to fit well with this description. For further discussion, see Szanton and Zilberstein 2016.
4 A similar coin, dating to 30/1 CE, was found beneath the monumental pavement uncovered next to Warren’s Gate, leading the excavators to suggest a date between 30 and 70 CE for this pavement (see Onn et al. 2017).
5 “Although he did not prevent them from repaving the streets of the city with marble” (Josephus, Ant. 20. 222). Earlier, Mazar (1971: 10, 12) had concluded that Agrippa II was behind the construction of the Stepped Street. The coins from the lowest levels below the street included many from the 1st century CE. This brought Mazar to surmise that while the monumental constructions in Jerusalem were executed by Herod, they must have subsequently been severely damaged. Mazar believed that the damage dated to the problematic period of rule of Herod’s son Archelaus (4 BCE–6 CE). The repairs, which commenced soon thereafter, continued throughout the first two-thirds of the 1st century CE, and were completed under Herod Agrippa II and his contemporary, a Roman governor named Albinus (62–64 CE, see ibid. 12).
6 See, for example, Editor’s Note in Israel Numismatic Journal 2: 2007: 3–4. See also Kokkinos 2012.
7 The coin currency of Jerusalem in the 1st century CE, until 70, was almost exclusively composed of bronze coins from the municipal mint, and silver coins (rarely found in the archaeological record) of the mint of Tyre. Consequently, when a latest coin is identified in a context, one can determine the date of the context with relative certainty, by considering the date of the next known municipal issue and its relative rarity. Today, 1,041 coins of Agrippa I’s Jerusalem issue have been documented in the IAA from excavations in Jerusalem. This may be compared to 289 of another common coin type—Meshorer 2001: Nos. 327–329, dating to three years, 17/18, 18/9 and 24/5 CE. In other words, roughly speaking, in archaeological assemblages dating after 41/2 CE in Jerusalem, for every coin of the earlier type found, more than three-and-a-half Agrippa I coins would also be expected.
8 Had the street alongside the Western Wall been paved immediately upon Agrippa I’s ascent to the throne of Judea, one could argue that none of the enormous coin issue could have been lost in the fill below the street. However, had the street been completed in the later years of his reign, or slightly later, one certainly would have expected some coins of the enormous issue to be found under the pavers.
9 As noted above, there is no longer a consensus on the end of Gratus’s rule and the installation of his successor, Pontius Pilate. D.R. Schwartz made a compelling argument for the years ca. 19 to 37 as Pilate’s term (1992:182–217; see also Schwartz 2013:140–141; Lönnqvist 2000; Kokkinos 2012). The traditional dates given to Pilate’s tenure are from 26–37 CE (e.g., Bond 2004: 8).
10 Pilate is mentioned in several sources: Philo (Embassy 299−305), Josephus (Ant. 18.55−89; J.W. 2.169−177), Tacitus (Annals 15.44), and the New Testament (Mark 15: 1−15, 43−45; Matt 27: 1−26, 58, 62-66; Luke 3: 1−2, 13: 1, 20: 20, 23: 1−25, 52; Acts 3: 13, 4: 27, 13: 28; John 18: 28−19: 16, 19: 19−22, 38). See Paltiel 1991; Schwartz 1992, 2013; Lönnqvist 2000; Bond 2004; Kokkinos 2012. The story about the Signa may also be mentioned in Megillat Taʿanit, Kislev III (Noam 2003: 255−256).
11 No clear archaeological data has been found that indicates Pilate’s role in the construction of the aqueduct, although recently Amit and Gibson (2014: 34) suggested that this relates to the construction of the upper aqueduct.
12 The name Pilate appears on a recently published seal ring that was found in Herodium (Amorai- Stark et al. 2018).
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