Jewish Ritual Bath in Ostia – History Blog

The oldest Jewish ritual bathing site outside Israel has been unearthed in the archaeological park of ancient Ostia. It dates back to the end of the 4th century. Mikveh is a bathtub for ritual purification and is built in a narrow room with steps down into a pool deep enough to completely immerse yourself in adults of average height. A small pottery oil lamp was found at the bottom with candlesticks and lulah (palm branches) (palm branches), confirming its identity as a Jewish ritual bathroom, rather than any other type of bathing environment found in many different kinds of bathing environments found in Rome.

Located on the stormway near the Tiber estuary about 20 miles southwest of Rome, Ostia was the main port city of the Republican Party and the early empire of Rome. This small port proved insufficient to meet the needs of an expanding empire, and the port port began to replace it in the 2nd century. In the 3rd century, Ostia’s population continued to grow, even as its business activities began to decline slowly.

The research was able to concentrate in particular on the sector, called “Area A”, located in an absolutely central area of​​​​​​the city , both from a topographical/urban and architectural point of view, as it is located near the ancient course of the Tiber and between the building of the Grandi Horrea to the west, the Republican sanctuary of the Quattro Tempietti, the Mithraeum of the Seven Spheres and the Domus of Apuleius to the south, and the eastern Corpeazioni Piazzale Piazzale. Surprisingly, despite its centrality, the area has never been studied before and therefore seems ideal for new excavation activities, a complete stratigraphic basin.

Given the central location of the site, archaeologists hope to find something related to trade, perhaps a warehouse or a river, but instead, they found the remains of a large and luxurious dome with black and white mosaic floors and murals on it, with at least two floors. The excavation found a kitchen, toilet, a porch and two ovens as well as a small dip pool.

The semi-height thyroid tube is a small rectangular room enclosed on the east side with a semi-circular APSE, which shows several construction phases. In the last one, it can be accessed from the west side by a large marble threshold, with its outer edge raised, occupied almost along the stairs along the entire width, consisting of three steps, with obvious marks of wear, flanking the two masonry jambs covered by hydraulic stucco; the floor level at the end of the stairs is made of two-legged bricks (60 cm square bricks) at the level of about 1 m below the entrance threshold, and has a groove about 3 cm wide, about 3 cm wide, which lasts on the side walls, most likely to be used to accommodate the barrier, perhaps wooden. In the northeast corner, right next to the north, there is a through hole in the masonry, probably to accommodate a pipe for water.

At the eastern end of the floor, there is a circular hole with a diameter of 1.08 m, made of cement and crowned by a brick ring, probably added later, of course to collect groundwater. Under connection to the floor, the perimeter of the well is widened to form an invitation. At a depth of 1.10 m from the nozzle, the diameter of the well is narrowed to 1.00 m, forming a depression that is most likely to work for the location of the grate or movable wood floor.

All sides of the room are closed by built-in walls Work List (The block with tuff alternates with bricks) There is no opening; on the back APSE, in the elevated position, a niche market was found, 0.60 m wide and 0.45 m wide, covered with blue plaster and shells, covered by a pair of small pillars of blocky, covered with stucco, lying on the brick stand.

The architectural features of the space – the steps of the entire width, the use of hydraulic gypsum, the wells used to collect groundwater, pipes and pipes – are all features of Mikveh Design. Rabbi sources from the 3rd century stipulate that Mikveh must be provided with at least 500 liters of fresh water (rain or spring) and it is deep enough to immerse adults in adults.

Rome had an organized Jewish community from the 2nd century BC, based on inscription evidence, an Ostia in the mid-1st century. The oldest written evidence of the Jewish presence in Ostia is a marble funeral marker found in a cemetery southeast of Ostia Antica, documenting the burial of the Fabii Longii family member “Ivdaei”. During the construction of the expressway in 1961, a synagogue was discovered in Ostia. It was built in the 2nd century and was rebuilt after an earthquake in 443 AD and was used until the 6th century when the port was silted and the city was abandoned. It is the oldest synagogue found outside of Israel.