A section of a stepped street paved in stone slabs was discovered in excavations at the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park. The section is built in the Second Temple style, which comprises alternating wide and narrow steps.

The newly-discovered section is about 1,800 feet south of the Temple Mount. The road represents the central thoroughfare of Jerusalem that ascended from the north-west corner of the Second Temple Shiloach Pool to the north.

The excavations, funded by the Elad Foundation, are being conducted under the auspices of Prof. Ronny Reich of Haifa University and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

According to Prof. Reich, “In the Second Temple Period, pilgrims would begin the ascent to the Temple from here. This is the southernmost tip of the road, of which a section has already been discovered along the western face of the Temple Mount.”

The professor is referring to the discovery of the existence of the road about one hundred years ago, by the British Palestine Exploration Fund. Various sections of the road were subsequently excavated and covered over in the intervening years.