13. Thought to have been merely another historical inaccuracy of the New Testament, the second Pool of Siloam was accidentally discovered by sewage workers underneath modern-day Jerusalem
One of the many miracles described in the Book of John, the disciple tells the story of Jesus restoring the sight of a blind man at the Pool of Siloam. Placing clay onto the man’s eyes, after washing it off the man delights in finding his vision returned to him. Known to have existed during the reign of Hezekiah (r. 715-866 BCE), it was long believed by historians that the ancient reservoir system had been destroyed after an invasion by the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib centuries before the birth of Jesus. Despite claims by biblical adherents that it must have been rebuilt at a later date, without evidence supporting this claim the story was widely rejected.
However, during repairs on a damaged sewer line in Jerusalem, a team of workmen inadvertently stumbled upon an amazing discovery: two steps leading to the remains of a pool. Measuring almost seventy meters in length, buried within plaster foundations of the stone facade were four coins bearing the face of Alexander Jannaeus. Ruling Jerusalem from 103 to 76 BCE, in conjunction with pottery shards corroborating this timeline, it has been determined that this successor pool was created less than one hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus and was likely still in use throughout his lifetime.