The homeowners admit they had been hesitant to contact the IAA, being uncertain about the historic value of their discovery, and worried about “consequences” involved in contacting the authorities. Ultimately, “our sense of civic and public duty clinched it for us,” one commented. They called in the IAA, profess surprise that the IAA treated them courteously – and in fact were awarded a certificate of appreciation (for good citizenship) today.
The neighborhood of Ein Kerem is sacred to Christianity because of its identification with a “city of Judah” – the place where according to the New Testament, John the Baptist was born, and where his pregnant mother Elisabeth met with Mary, mother of Jesus, Re’em says. Yet archaeological remains in and around Ein Kerem from that era (the Second Temple period) are rare, and fragmented.
Story: Nir Hasson, Haaretz | Photo: Assaf Peretz, IAA
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