After nearly two millennia buried beneath destruction and debris, the first-century Pilgrimage Road leading toward the Temple Mount has now been fully opened to the public. Unearthed through a 13-year excavation by the City of David in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the ancient stepped street allows visitors to retrace the path once traveled by Jewish pilgrims ascending from the Pool of Siloam to worship during the Second Temple period. Ritual baths, original paving stones, and artifacts tied directly to temple worship testify to the road’s sacred purpose and its central role in Israel’s spiritual life.

Archaeological finds along the 600-meter route include coins, weighing tables used for sacrificial purchases, and items hidden by Jewish rebels fleeing Roman forces during the Great Revolt. Beneath the road, a drainage channel revealed cooking vessels, oil lamps, bronze coins, and even a Roman legionnaire’s sword—silent witnesses to both devotion and destruction. Scholars believe the road was constructed during the Roman governorship of Pontius Pilate, placing it squarely in the era of Jesus’ earthly ministry. At the opening ceremony, Israeli leaders and international officials emphasized that the stones themselves now testify to Jerusalem’s unbroken Jewish history.

This moment is prophetically significant because it reinforces the centrality of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in God’s redemptive timeline. Scripture repeatedly points to Jerusalem as the focal point of worship, judgment, and restoration in the last days. The physical re-exposure of a literal pilgrimage route—once walked by worshipers obeying God’s commands—serves as a tangible reminder that biblical history is not symbolic myth but anchored in real places awaiting future fulfillment. As prophetic attention increasingly converges on Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the reopening of this ancient road feels less like coincidence and more like preparation, underscoring that God’s purposes for Zion are moving steadily from promise toward completion.

SOURCE: All Israel News