1,400-year-old Jewish ritual bath unearthed on outskirts of Rome. See the unique ruins
On the outskirts of Rome, Italy, sit the ruins of Ostia Antica. The ancient port city isn’t as well-known as the nearby Colosseum or Roman Forum, but — as archaeologists recently learned — it contains some equally unique ruins.
Archaeologists began excavating a central section of Ostia Antica, an archaeological park roughly 15 miles from downtown Rome, as part of ongoing research at the site, park officials said in a March 10 news release. The dig focused on a ruined structure which was already partially visible but had never been fully excavated.
As they worked, the team uncovered a smaller rectangular room with a wide set of steps leading down to a well. Archaeologists identified it as an ancient Jewish ritual bath, known as a mikveh, dating back at least 1,400 years.
Photos shared by Italy’s Ministry of Culture in a March 10 news release show the ritual bath. On one end of the narrow room is the entrance and on the other is a semi-circular wall with a nook carved into it.
Inside the well, archaeologists found a lamp decorated with a menorah and palm branch, a distinctly Jewish artifact dating between the fifth and sixth century, officials said. A glass cup almost entirely intact was also uncovered.
Alessandro D’Alessio, the director of the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, described the ancient Jewish ritual bath as absolutely extraordinary, unique and one of the only Roman-era mikvehs to be found outside of Israel.
Photos show a few of the artifacts found at the 1,400-year-old ritual bath, including several lamps, broken statues and fragments of a marble inscription.
The ancient mikveh was connected to a larger ruined structure where excavations unearthed several tile mosaics, officials said and photos show. Archaeologists did not identify the surrounding building or its purpose.
Mikvehs were used for ritual washing or purification of both people and objects and were generally not stand-alone structures, officials said.
Excavations at Ostia Antic lasted from June to August 2024. Officials said they hope to eventually make the newly found structure open to the public.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Ostia Antica Archaeological Park and Italy’s Ministry of Culture.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 10:38 AM with the headline "1,400-year-old Jewish ritual bath unearthed on outskirts of Rome. See the unique ruins."
