ABSTRACT

After more than two decades of extensive archaeological work in the Old City of Jerusalem and the publication of the final reports of older excavations, our perception of early Roman Jerusalem has significantly changed. A clearer picture emerges of Herod's construction projects in the city, and especially at the vicinity of the Temple Mount, as well as our understanding of contemporary private dwellings and funerary monuments. 

However, one of the major outcomes of these excavations, is that despite Flavius Josephus' harsh criticism on the Roman perfects and procurators of Iudaea, and their portrayal as opportunists, who robbed the country for their own good, Jerusalem clearly enjoyed days of prosperity during the first century CE, under their rule. Thus, for example, the finds show that the expansion of the Temple Mount's platform, initiated by Herod continued well after his death and into the first century CE, in accordance with literary evidence. It seems that the Roman administration took part in the development of the city and took care of its needs. This is especially true for Pontius Pilate, in whose days, according to the new findings, a wide thoroughfare was paved, crossing the city from south to north, connecting the Pool of Siloam in the southeastern part of the city with the Temple Mount. Taking into consideration evidence for his construction of an aqueduct to Jerusalem, as well as a temple in honor of Tiberius in Caesarea Maritima, he emerges as an important builder, which had influenced the layout and development of the city.