The Pilgrimage Road, a circa first-century route linking the Pool of Siloam to the foot of the Temple Mount, has been opened to the public after 13 years of excavations.

The City of David, which operates the national park site, and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which has led the dig, announced the site’s opening last week in a joint social media post.

“We have been waiting for this moment for 2,000 years,” the post read. “For many generations, the road was buried under layers of destruction. In recent years, we have been privileged to re-expose its entire length in a joint project between the City of David and the Israel Antiquities Authority.”

Archaeologists say the stepped street served as Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare for pilgrims during the Second Temple period, as countless coins and a “special weighing table” were discovered during excavations.

An ancient drainage channel was discovered beneath the road, believed to have been used by Jewish rebels during the Second Temple, according to the City of David, as “cooking pots, oil lamps, hundreds of bronze coins from the Great Revolt, and even a sword belonging to a Roman legionnaire were all discovered in the channel.”

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman praised the opening in a post on X/Twitter, saying that the road is “one of the world’s most significant archaeological discoveries and proof that the Bible is a matter of fact, not simply faith.”

Israeli, US gov’t officials gather for inauguration ceremony

The road was officially inaugurated in a September 2025 ceremony.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee took part in the event, alongside IAA Director Eli Escusido, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, and other government and high-ranking officials.

At the time, Rubio called it “an extraordinary archaeological site,” framing his appearance as a celebration of shared heritage.

In remarks at the ceremony, Netanyahu said the unveiling reflected the Jewish people’s ancient bond with Jerusalem and vowed that the city would remain united, while Huckabee praised the excavation as a moment that “lets the stones speak,” underscoring the continuity of Jewish presence in the city.

Original Article – Jerusalem’s Pilgrimage Road opens to public after 13 years | The Jerusalem Post