Dramatic Find in Israel on eve of Tisha B'Av

Ancient Jerusalem Tunnel Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Artifacts

The excavation of an ancient drainage tunnel beneath Jerusalem has yielded a sword, oil lamps, pots and coins abandoned during a war 2,000 years ago, archaeologists said, suggesting the finds were debris from when rebels hid from Roman soldiers crushing a Jewish revolt during the time of the Second Temple.

The tunnel [pictured] was built two millennia ago underneath one of Roman-era Jerusalem's main streets. After a four-year excavation, the tunnel is part of a growing network of subterranean passages under the modern city.

When the tunnel opens to the public sometime in the coming months, underground passages totaling about a mile in length will be accessible beneath Jerusalem. The tunnels have become one of the city's biggest tourist draws and the number of visitors has risen in recent years to more than a million in 2010.
(AP-Washington Post)
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On the eve of Tisha B’Av, artifacts breathe new life into story

[A]rtifacts were exposed that breathe new life into the story of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem:

A sword in a scabbard that belonged to a Roman soldier and an engraving of the Temple’s menorah on a stone object were discovered during work the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in the 2,000 year old drainage channel between the City of David and the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden.

The channel served as a hiding refuge for the residents of Jerusalem from the Romans during the destruction of the Second Temple.
[Israel Antiquities Authority]
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